Together Forever
by TheAnimeFicWriter
Summary: Kotori has withstood the test of time with the love of her life. Nothing could be better than being with the one she loves. However, life is always filled with unexpected events. Will Kotori go through something entirely new?
1. Kotori 1

Together Forever

Chapter 1

Rediscovered

 **Note:** Yes… I know. I'm writing another Umi story. I love her. She's my best girl so I have to make her look good. However, this will be a different story from how I normally write. Hopefully, this slight change will be a good decision so without further ado, I hope you all enjoy the story.

My name is Minami Kotori and my life is very interesting. Ever since I could remember, I've always been a hopeless romantic. The sight of love, the feeling of being in love; I can't get over it. Everything about it just makes me feel all warm inside. However, that's not the reason why my life is so interesting. The thing that makes my life interesting is that I've lived through the test of time. I know… You're thinking that that is impossible, but I'm here to tell you that it is possible.

It all started in the past. Don't ask me exactly when because I honestly have forgotten. However, there is one thing that I haven't forgotten about the past and that is the love of my life. Kousaka Honoka is name of the girl I'm destined to be with for the rest of my life. When I found her for the first time, my heart was hit by the love arrow. We immediately grew close and eventually got into a serious relationship that took us all the way to our last days on this planet. The strange thing was that it wasn't the end for either of us.

After I died, I thought that that was it, but I was wrong. I opened my eyes to a new life with a new body. However, my name stayed the same and all of my memories were still intact. It wasn't until I was old enough to where I was able to piece together those memories. I didn't know what they meant though so I just brushed them aside and went on living my life. Eventually, I met Honoka again which made me remember all of those things from my previous life. We grew close again with the same result as the last.

Another death went by and a new life was given to me. When I reached a mature age, I really started to believe that there was a reason I was the way I was. This time, I searched as hard as I could until I found Honoka. It was a little difficult, but we eventually loved each other once again.

Now, I'm not going to bore you with how many times we loved each other, but it's been a lot of times. Every time feels like the very first time which makes this journey so incredible.

So now we are in the present time and I'm about to be transferred to a new high school. I'm excited about this because I have yet to meet up with Honoka in this life. Sometimes she changes appearance, but only slightly so I'm excited to see how she turns out. All I know is that she's going to be super cute and super excited to meet me once again. I can't get over how amazing this feeling is. Love is truly the strongest power there is. Wish me luck tomorrow.

…

I woke up bright and early and got ready for school. It was a brand new uniform and I loved it. It was very simple, but gave off a very cute vibe to it. I made sure I looked presentable because I didn't want to take the chance of having a lazy day and meet Honoka. Once everything was in order, I left my house and made my way to school.

On the way there was a little intimidating. The city we lived in was a lot bigger than anything I remember from the past. Girls were all flocking in one direction to Otonokizaka High School. As I neared the school, I desperately scanned the area for a sign of Honoka, but there was none. Once I made it onto the school grounds, I looked for a sign telling me where new students should go. The signs led me to the teacher's office where they settled me in. That's when the bell rang, indicating everyone to head to class. After about a minute or so, my teacher guided me to the classroom that I'd be staying in for the next school year.

I was forced to wait outside while the teacher gave a little introduction. Apparently, transfer students were a strange thing so she had to prepare the class for my entrance. Once that was over, she called my name and I entered the classroom without a wasted moment. I got front and center and looked at the class full of students.

"Good morning everyone. My name is Minami Kotori and it's a pleasure to meet you…" My tongue suddenly stopped working as my eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar figure. It was a girl looking out the window in the most beautiful way.

"Minami-san, is that your introduction?"

"It is you," I said slowly. My tongue finally figured out how to talk again and those were the only words that were functional.

"Huh?" The girl turned to me, revealing herself to be the Honoka that I've been looking for. "Me?"

"What is your name?"

"Kousaka Honoka."

I couldn't believe my ears. My dream had come true once again. I found the love of my life. I immediately ran through the line of desks until I made it to her desk. I grabbed her hands and looked her in the eyes.

"I can't believe I found you. For some reason, it feels like it's been so long since I've last seen you." I couldn't talk anymore. I closed my eyes and puckered my lips for a kiss. Unfortunately, I was halted by a hard hand to the cheek.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about. You just transferred here, didn't you?"

"Yes," I said with the most confused look on my face.

"Then there's no way I could know you. I welcome to meeting new people, but this is kind of freaking me out a bit."

"Minami-san, could you please come back to the front?"

In the shortest amount of time, pure happiness turned into confusion. I looked at her one more time and could tell that she didn't know me at all. I didn't want it to be true, but there was no way she would lie about something like this. That's when I turned around and headed back to the front of the classroom to finish my introduction. After I was done, my teacher assigned me to my seat and once I took a seat, everyone started chattering away. I knew that it was about me, but I didn't care. The only thing I cared about was why this girl didn't know me. I pondered this all the way until lunch.

When the lunch bell rang, I saw Honoka leave the classroom with a bag of lunch so I decided to follow her. I waited until she settled into her eating spot. That's when I revealed myself to her once again.

"Hi," I said nervously.

"Oh, it's you. How do you like the school so far?"

"Um, it's good. It's different from what I'm used to." I said it like that, but I meant it in a whole different way.

"Well, you'll get used to…"

"Honoka!" I couldn't help but interject myself before she could finish. "Please don't do this to me. You have to remember me. I'm Kotori, the one you know so much about." I could feel tears starting to form in my eyes. At the same time, I could see a look of disgust developing on Honoka's face. "Your true love."

At that moment, she stood up and looked me dead in the eye.

"You obviously have the wrong person because I don't know you. if it helps, there's someone else that I'm already interested in. Whoever you think I am, I'm not. However, I really do hope you find who it is that you're looking for." She grabbed her bag and left me alone.

At that point, it was just too much for me to handle. I collapsed onto my knees and started to cry. I didn't try to hold it in at all. I let out loud sobs and cries that filled the hallways. Even though my crying was loud, I could hear the people around me talking about me. Again, I didn't let this affect me because something worse just happened to me. The girl I love… The girl I'm supposed to be with has no idea who I am. What could be worse than that?

Even though it was my first day at a new school, I couldn't bring myself to stay there any longer. I managed to escape the school grounds without being caught so I decided to go home. When I got home, I went straight to my room and collapsed onto my bed. Tears erupted from my eyes again. this time was even more dramatic because I didn't have to worry about anyone seeing. It was just me wallowing in my own sadness and to be honest, that is the worst feeling ever. As I cried, so many things filled my head. Why didn't she know who I was? Why would things change now? We're supposed to be together forever. I don't want to be separated from her. I love her.

Time went on as I continued to cry until my body's water supply dried up. That's when I turned over and stared at the ceiling. I wanted to cry so much, but there was nothing left inside. However, there was one thing left I could do.

She may not recognize me now, but I could get her to recognize me. That's it… That's exactly what I'll do. I'll reenact some of the most romantic things we've done in the past and I'm sure she'll remember me. She has to… Because if she doesn't, what am I supposed to do with my life?

End of Chapter 1


	2. Kotori 2

Together Forever

Chapter 2

Pursuing My Love

My first day was obviously not the best day I've ever had, but I still had things to do. Once school was over, I decided to follow Honoka home. In my past lives, our families were always close so I knew that her parents could help me out. When I knocked on the door and they opened it up, they had no idea who I was. that's when I tried to explain what was going on, but that's when they suddenly started to give me a weird look. I didn't know what to do. Eventually, I apologized to them and left their house.

After that, I was stuck. I had no idea what to do. I didn't plan on things being so difficult, but I had to confident. It was only my first day so there was a lot more time left. That's when I decided to go home and plan out the next stage of my plan.

It took me a while, but I was able to come up with something that could possibly work. Honoka was always one for sweet, adorable things either being food or random acts. Thankfully, I've maintained my ability to bake so I decided to do that first. I baked her a bag of cookies and left them in her shoe locker. When it was time to go to school, I waited around until she showed up. Right as she opened up her locker, she saw the cookies and decided to read who they were from. It was hard to gauge her reaction, but it wasn't what I was expecting.

After that didn't work, I decided to try something else. It was kind of creepy when I first thought about it, but little notes always worked. I placed them in all of the places that she used most and always got the same reaction. She'd quickly read them and then throw them away. I couldn't believe what I was watching. It seemed as though none of my strategies were working. It didn't make any sense because Honoka was always a hopeless romantic. There was just something about this Honoka that made her reconsider my whole about doing things.

Now, school was ending so I made my way down to the shoe locker. On the way down, however, I came across something that I didn't expect at all.

"Oh my gosh, here she comes."

"Oh yeah, the prince is on her way to practice. I want to see."

"Get out of the way. I want to see too. Maybe she'll finally wave to me."

All of these side conversations were making me curious. Girls are known to gossip, but this seemed like something else. It sounded like unrequited love. I was interested so I decided to park myself alongside the wall of the hallway until this "prince" made her appearance. However, I thought it seemed a little mean to refer to a girl as "prince," but when I saw who it was, I couldn't have agreed more. she was tall and long, flowing blue hair. As she passed all of the girls in the hallway, they all squealed in delight.

"It's Umi-senpai!"

"Oh my gosh, she's so cool. She's so pretty."

"Hi Umi-senpai, it's so nice to see you."

Of course, she didn't pick out any one girl to give her full attention to, but she always greeted them with a lovely smile that nearly knocked them all unconscious. The strange thing was that when she saw me, she stopped.

"Hello. I don't think I've ever seen you before. Are you new here?"

I was actually kind of shocked. I didn't know her and she didn't know, yet, she took time out of her day to make her acquaintance.

"If you're shy, I apologize for springing myself on you so abruptly."

"No, no. It's fine. I was just spacing out. My name is Minami Kotori and I just transferred here."

"Oh really? we usually don't get transfer students so it's honor to meet you. If you'll excuse me, I need to get to practice."

"I'm sorry for keeping you."

"No problem at all. I'm Umi, by the way."

And with those words, she left while all of the girls slowly turned their attention to me. Some of their looks were of admiration, but most of them were of jealousy. Apparently getting to talk to that girl was considered an honor. That's when I quickly grabbed my stuff and headed home for the day. When I got home, I got back to business and came up with an entirely new plan that would help get Honoka back on track with me.

…

The next day, I decided to take a totally different approach with her. Right as I saw her, I would simply ask her out. Asking her would definitely be the easiest part. Waiting for the answer that I wanted would be a whole lot harder. However, I was optimistic. It was subconscious, but all of the prying I did to her would get her to go out with me at least, and if that became the truth, I would make sure that she would remember it forever. That would be the only way for her to realize that I'm the one she loves.

I waited in the front of the school until she showed, but when she did, she confronted me first in a rather aggressive way.

"What is your problem?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've been making things for me. You've been leaving me notes; it's getting kind of old."

"Well, how else was supposed to get your attention?"

"You know that there are better ways of communicating with a person, right?"

"Not really."

"So what do you want?"

There was my moment. I took a deep breath and looked her right in the eye.

"Please go out with me. It can even be just a one-time thing, but I would really love it if we went on a date together." I waited for a response, but I could tell there was a lot of disgust on her face. I was so tempted to cry, but I had to stay strong. Breaking down in front of her was the last thing I wanted to do.

"Alright. If it'll keep you down from doing all of these ridiculous things, then I'll agree."

"Really?" I couldn't but glow from her answer. It was what I've been waiting to hear after all of this time.

"Yes. Just let me know when and where we should meet."

"There's this school idol concert tomorrow after school. We can go there." It was so slight, but Honoka paused a bit before she responded to me.

"Okay. It seems like you have pretty good taste in first dates. I'll see you there."

I waited for her to leave my sight and once she was gone, I ran to the restroom and locked myself in a stall. I couldn't contain my excitement any longer. I squealed at the top of my lungs and let out a few tears. The first steps of our relationship were finally starting. I wasn't going to let anything stop me now. Honoka was so much closer now. It almost as if we were already together. I just needed to make sure that tomorrow would be the best day of her life. But then again, there was no way that I could fail. Honoka has always had a love for school idols and I'm taking her to the city's best group so I know she'll enjoy herself and me.

That's when I pressed my hand against my chest and let out a huge sigh.

"I missed this feeling so much. It's literally been a lifetime since this warm feeling has entered my body. Please don't mess it up Kotori."

End of Chapter 2


	3. Kotori 3

Together Forever

Chapter 3

Mistakes

On the day of our date, I was super nervous. I nearly took me an hour deciding what I should wear. Thankfully, I decided to go with something simple and cute. It was our first date after all so I knew not to overdo things. Once I was ready, I headed into town where Honoka was waiting for me. I was surprised by the sight, but I didn't let it show on my face. I greeted her with a smile and the two of us quickly got in line.

The group that we were seeing, A-Rise, was a big deal. They were the most popular school idol group so everyone who was there was going crazy. They were shouting the names of the girls in the group and showing their support through various methods. On the other hand, I didn't really know them. I've heard about school idols, but they just didn't attract me as much as most girls. At the same time, it didn't seem like Honoka was very into it. She simply looked around calmly, completely ignoring my presence.

I constantly tried to get her attention, but she would blow me off with short one word responses. It was super discouraging, but I had to keep a strong front. I constantly asked her questions and continued to get simple responses. Although it seemed bad, it helped me get a little closer to her. I didn't know this Honoka at all so I needed to use today as the stepping stone to the start of our relationship… And I knew that it was going to be a bumpy relationship.

After about an hour or so, the doors finally opened and everyone filed into the auditorium. Once we were in inside, the chanting grew even louder. The name "Tsubasa" was filling the room as it was fresh air from the outside world. It was so exhilarating that I just had to join in. Also, Honoka was doing so I wanted to make her feel good too. It wasn't too long before they started the concert with a bang.

As a whole, the concert was very impressive. Their singing was very good, their dancing was very professional, and their attitude was simply adorable. I looked around and saw the faces of all of the girls watching and I was starting to understand why they were going crazy for them. It seemed as if they weren't even human. The way they held themselves and the way they performed in front of all of us just didn't seem possible. I was definitely feeling a little jealous. To get the attention of anyone they wanted was something I wish I could do for Honoka.

When the concert came to an end, they held a little meet-and-greet outside the auditorium. That's when Honoka finally started to show some enthusiasm. Without even bringing me along, she weaved through the crowd of girls to make her way outside. On the other hand, I was a little slow so I headed up meeting the traffic of everyone who wanted to meet the girls. I was forced to follow the flow of traffic until there was an opening for me to meet up with Honoka.

Eventually, that opening came to me and I took it. I carefully weaved through the huge mass of people until I made it close to a railing. When I looked up, I saw something I wish I never would have seen.

It was Honoka kissing the leader of the idol group. Now, I would have simply said that this was luck for her to be kissed by the leader of an idol group, but this kiss was different from that. That kiss looked like it was from mutual love. It seemed like they knew each other; as if they've done this before. as I continued to watch the two of them to kiss, I became more confused. I didn't know what to do. People were pushing me left and right and that's when I knew that it was best for me to leave. It wasn't worth me trying to figure out the truth. I knew the truth of the situation… Honoka's heart belonged to someone.

…

That night, I kept myself up all night thinking about what I had saw. It was just a kiss on the outside, but to me, it was something more. Honoka, all throughout history, has always been loyal and pure. That's why I was bothered by this. Who was this girl? Why was she so special to Honoka that allowed her to kiss her? If the two of them were a thing, why didn't Honoka say anything? None of it made any sense.

On my part, I knew I jumped to conclusions by just walking off. That alone would make it hard for me to talk to her again. it was a date and I ended up walking out on her; the one who asked her out on the date. The only thing that made sense was for me to talk to Honoka when I saw her next to try and clear up whatever it was that was going on. That was the least either of us could for the other.

That was the only thing that I could hope for… Maybe there was something about that kiss that I didn't understand.

…

When the next week of school resumed, I put on an optimistic look and headed off to school. I did my very best to put everything that happened the previous week behind me. Thinking about it too hard would only make things worse for me. As the school came into view, I took a deep breath and set my sights on finding Honoka. Unfortunately, I found her immediately. She was with that girl from that idol group. The two of them were kissing right outside the school gates. As I neared them, they broke away from their kiss and exchanged farewells. The girl went in one direction and Honoka in the other.

My assumptions were true. I closed my eyes and ran into the school building as quickly as I could. I was so bothered that I didn't even bother changing my shoes. I just kept on running until I ran into someone that knocked me to the ground.

"Ow. Oh… You're that girl from the other day. Minami-san, right?"

"Oh my God, she just knocked down the prince."

"What is her problem anyway?"

"Just because she's a transfer, she thinks she can do whatever she wants. That's so ridiculous."

All of these words and thoughts were going through my head that I couldn't think straight. I quickly returned my feet and made my way to the staircase. That's when I kept on running until I reached the roof. I made it to the top of the building where I locked the door behind me and collapsed onto the ground.

My eyes were like rainclouds. Tears were rolling down my face and falling to the ground. I couldn't control any longer. The pain of seeing Honoka kiss another girl in front of me was just too much.

Why was this happening to me? None of this should be happening to me. All throughout time, Honoka belonged to me. If she didn't, all I had to do was find her. making her mind was not an option this time because she clearly belongs to someone else, and she doesn't show any signs of giving me a chance. That date was proof that she didn't care about me at all. She didn't even recognize me walking onto campus.

That's when I fell onto the ground and curled into a ball. It didn't seem like it, but a few hours passed. The hot sun was beating down on my body, but I didn't mind at all. It didn't even feel hot to feel. The sun felt more like cold daggers piercing my every nerve, making me feel weaker than I ever have before.

This life is too hard.

I have nothing left to live for.

Why should I keep going?

Somehow, these thoughts suddenly popped up in my head and they didn't seem bad at all. The reason why I have lived all of this time was because I wanted to be with Honoka. Now that I can't have her, it's not even worth living anymore. She won't look my way so me not being here won't make a difference to her anyway. I don't even have anyone in my life that would care if I were to disappear. That would be the simplest thing to do.

I slowly returned to my feet and took off my shoes. I walked over to the railing that protected the roof of the building. I climbed over it and held on with both of my hands. I looked down and could see the everlasting drop that would solve all of my problems. I closed my eyes and took one last deep breath.

"Goodbye."

End of Chapter 3


	4. Kotori 4

Together Forever

Chapter 4

Realization

As I closed my eyes, I could feel the wind hit my face. It was nice, brisk breeze rushing by. I had no care in the world. My time was coming to an end anyway. However, there was one thing that was running through my mind and it was Honoka.

Kousaka Honoka. I could never forget you. You were so cute and so cheerful. You had all of the qualities that I could never have. You brought joy and excitement to my life and even if I couldn't say goodbye to you now, I know that you're smiling. Wherever you are, whoever you're with; I know that you'll be happy. That was my one mistake. You always made me happy, but I always fell short in giving you that same love. In my heart, I loved you more than anything else in this entire world, but on the outside, I just couldn't bring myself to show it.

Why? What caused me to hold back? Was that the reason for this change in events? Was my own conviction not strong enough to be with you for the rest of time?

I'm sorry… I know now that all of this is my fault. Hopefully, I'll be able to see you soon.

As my descent continued, I could feel a warmth I've never felt before. Then, a bright light appeared in front of me. I reached out with both hands and grabbed ahold of it. I was here.

I was where I needed to be.

…

"Stop!"

My eyes shot open as a voice came from behind me. I was so confused and startled at the same time. The sound of that voice nearly caused me to fall, but I grabbed ahold of the railing once more and turned around.

"What are you doing?"

It was that girl from the hallway. I couldn't remember her name so I just remained quiet. I slowly averted my eyes from her until they were back looking at the ground below me.

"I don't know you very well. I don't know what's been going on in your life, but this is not the thing you want to do, trust me."

I could hear her voice getting closer which finally forced me to speak up.

"Please don't get any closer to me. I've made my choice. Nothing you can say will change that decision."

"Okay, that's fine. If you could just hear me out… You can't do this. You're still so young. Don't you want to see more of the world? Don't you want to see what your life will become? You can't do any of those things if you end it here."

Her words were getting to me. Tears were starting to form in my eyes.

"None of that matters if I can't be happy."

"Of course you can be happy. What are some things that you like?"

"Honoka." I couldn't hold it in any more. I had to speak her name once again, but it was the truth. Although she's broken my heart, she still makes me happy. All of those memories from the past are still with me and they mean so much to me. That's why all of this was right. If I could rid myself of this pain, I'd be able to only think about the happy things.

"Okay. There's other stuff you like, right? What are other things that make you happy?"

"Sweets?" This was also true, but I was starting to question everything. Why was this girl going so far as to stop me? I don't didn't her and she didn't know me.

"Really? I love sweets too. Do you have a favorite?"

"Um… Cheesecake."

"Aw, cheesecake is good. It's really cool how there's a lot of flavors to choose from. You don't have to stick with one. If you're feeling a certain way, you can choose something entirely out of the blue."

"Yeah… That's true." Suddenly, my hands gripped the railing even tighter than before. unconsciously, it felt as if I didn't want to jump anymore.

"My favorite is manjuu. There's just something about them that I just can't get away from. I guess you could call it my guilty pleasure. I only eat it when I can't resist the urge anymore. Haha, I'm such a sucker when it comes to manjuu."

At that moment, there was a pause within our conversation. I wasn't thinking of anything and she wasn't even saying anything to me. However, this silence only made me more scared of jumping. I turned around and looked at the girl. She had her eyes right on me as if I was about to go somewhere beyond her reach.

"I-I'm scared."

"I know. It's totally alright to be scared. I'm right here for you. I'm not going anywhere."

"I don't want to be on this ledge anymore."

"Would you like a hand?"

"I couldn't muster the words. I just nodded my head. That's when she stuck her hand out to me. I looked up and saw her smiling. It was such a bright smile that it kind of made me smile back at her. Then, I took her hand and she helped me climb over the railing and back to safety. My body was in complete ruins that I collapsed onto my knees and then onto my butt. Tears were rolling down my face. "Aaahhhhh!" I let out a cry of pain. Nothing made sense to me anymore.

"It's okay. I'm right here. Let it out."

She suddenly wrapped her arms around my body and pulled me in for a hug. At that moment, I was so demoralized that I didn't really know what was happening. Eventually, my legs gave out and the two of us sat on the ground. We were sitting there for the longest time because I just couldn't bring myself to stop crying. I was thinking about everything all at once and why I was so messed up. All the while, this girl was keeping my company. She held me close and made me feel like I meant something to her.

A few more hours went by and I was finally able to recollect myself. I pushed myself off of her body, wiped my eyes clear of any remaining tears, and looked her right in the eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I forgot your name."

"Haha, it's alright. Sonoda Umi, and you're Minami Kotori, right?"

"Uh huh."

"Minami-san."

"You can just call me Kotori."

"Kotori… That's such a cute name. Well, school is pretty much over. Would you like me to walk you home?"

"S-Sure."

The two of us slowly returned to our feet and walked down to the exit of the school. Unfortunately, being with this girl, it attracted a lot of unwanted attention. Many of the girls who saw us walking together started talking to each other with dirty looks. This only meant that they were talking bad about me. I tried my best to ignore it, but I knew there was nothing I could do. I was the new girl with the most popular girl in school so it was obvious that I'd be getting a bad rep.

Once we made it off campus, I was able to relax a little more. However, as we continued to walk to my house, there was something that was bothering me about the whole thing. I couldn't keep in any more so I decided to ask her.

"So… How did you know I was up there?"

"To be honest, I didn't… I was asked to get some equipment from the roof and when I got there, it was locked so I got the key. When I opened it up, I saw you on the ledge and everything just stopped. I forgot everything that I was supposed to do and just focused on you."

"Well… Thank you. I told myself that that was the best and easiest thing to do, but in the back of my head, I was wishing that someone would come try and talk me out of it."

"I'm just glad that you're here now. I know your parents would be devastated if they found out about that kind of news."

"Yeah." Our conversation eventually faded as we reached my house. "Thank you again, for walking me home."

"It's no problem. If you ever need anything, feel free to call me or something. Do you have a cell phone?"

"Yeah."

"Let's exchange numbers."

At that moment, we pulled out our phones and went through the process.

"There. Now, if there's anything you need or want to talk about, I'll be right here. Consider me one of your friends now."

"Okay." I couldn't but smile a bit at that comment. I didn't realize until now, but I haven't really made any friends ever since transferring to this new school. Another good thing about this was that she seemed really friendly and genuine.

"Well, I should get home or else my parents are going to wonder where I am. I'll see you school. Bye."

"Bye." We waved goodbye to each other until we lost sight of each other. After that, I turned to the front door and walked in. My parents were already home preparing dinner. However, I decided to silently walk in and head to my room. There was no way I could tell them about what happened. They'd punish me for sure. For all I knew, there was only one person I could talk to, and I didn't even know her that much.

End of Chapter 4


	5. Kotori 5

Together Forever

Chapter 5

To Be a Friend

I called her up and nervously held onto my phone. I only needed to wait a few seconds before a voice could be heard from the other end.

"Hello?"

"Hi, this is Kotori. Is this Sonoda-san?"

"Yeah it is. I wasn't expecting you to call so soon. Is everything okay?"

"Not really. I just really needed someone to talk to."

"Perfect. I'm all ears."

"Well, I feel that I should thank you again for stopping me. I don't know why I did that. It was really stupid of me to think like that."

"It's alright. Your reasons are justifiable."

"But now I'm scared everything. I haven't brought it up to my parents. I'm too afraid that they might think horribly about me or put in some kind of program to help fix my brain. I don't want that. I don't think nothing's wrong with me. It's just that I'm so confused about everything. What should I do?"

"Just stay calm. There's no need to rush anything. You need to understand yourself first before trying to burden anyone else."

"But doesn't that mean I've already brought you into my problem?"

"That doesn't matter. Friends are always there for each other. I already told you that if you need anything, I'll be there for you."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This girl was refusing to back down from her previous promise. How could she be so dedicated to me when we didn't even know each other? I know that everyone's different, but I didn't know that people could be selfless, and this girl was starting to illuminate that idea. She's only cared about me. I can't recall her ever bringing her own life into our conversations, and if she did, there was probably a reason for it.

"So I should just keep quiet about the whole thing?"

"I wouldn't think of it like that. More like… Reflect on the good that came out of choosing to live on. It may not seem like there's anything good to think about, I can promise you that there will be goodness in the future. That's why we all look forward and not behind us."

"Hm… okay. Thank you for listening."

"No problem at all. Is there anything else that's bothering you?"

"No, I think I'm fine for now."

"Hey, if you want, I can walk to school with you if that'll ease the burden."

"That actually sounds like a good idea. Thank you."

"Your welcome. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Bye."

I let her voice be the last thing I hear before hanging up. Even though it was a simple phone call, I could feel a slight sense of relief. I knew there was still a lot left for me to deal with. It just made things better knowing that this girl wouldn't desert me. I need her… I don't care if we're strangers to each other. She could definitely help me return to normal because I know that I'm not the person I used to be. I want to be Minami Kotori and this person I am right now is not her.

After everything settled down, I laid on my bed and closed my eyes. Only a few seconds went by before I felt my body drift into dreamland. Unfortunately, my dream is filled with blurry, black dust with nothing in sight.

…

When my alarm went off the next morning, I was a little sluggish in getting out of bed. I walked over to the mirror in my room and got a good look at myself. My face was still a little swollen from all of the wear of tear I've experienced, but I tried to get over it. I slapped my cheeks and shook my head vigorously. It was a new day and I had to treat it that way.

Once I was ready, I headed out the door to see Sonoda-san waiting just outside the gate. We greeted each other with a friendly good morning and headed to school. Unfortunately, we didn't really talk much. For some reason, I was still a little hesitant in talking with her about my problem. However, just being with her made it seem like I didn't have a problem at all.

When we got to school, a lot of eyes were pulled towards us. I could tell that none of the girls liked what they were seeing. I could even hear some of them talking about why I was with the prince of the school. I just bowed my head in shame. I just got lucky in exposing my most vulnerable self to her and she's just a good enough human to put me ahead of her. In realizing this truth, I broke away from me. She called out to me, but I didn't answer. I weaved through the crowd of people until I found myself in the bathroom. I found an open stall and shut myself inside.

Who does that girl think she is? What a gold digger? The prince is probably just being nice. There's no way the prince has fallen for that chick. Just look at her, she looks awful. Yeah she does.

There were so many voices going through my head.

I was being ostracized. The one unobtainable girl was spending time with me and this was causing people to think poorly about me. It just wasn't fair. I didn't ask for any of this. It just happened.

That's when I slammed my hands against my head and shut my eyes as tight as I could. There was just no escape for me. Sonoda-san tells me to think about the good that will come of all of this, but I can't see it. I don't see how any good could come out of any of this. Suffering like this unbearable. Why am I the only one going through something like this?

Bang! Bang! At that moment, the door to the stall I was in erupted with sound. I calmly opened it up and saw a group of girls just outside of it.

"H-Hi. Can I help you?"

"You're that girl who's been hanging around the prince, huh?"

"Y-Yes." For some reason, tremors were running throughout my entire body as they continued to look at me with daggers for eyes.

"Get out of here."

Without even thinking, I get up and exit the stall. Out of nowhere, they grabbed me by the shoulders and threw into the wall. I hit it hard and fell to the floor. Now, even more tremors were running through my body.

"Why," I asked softly.

"What'd you say?!"

This time, I was only able to mouth the question because the words just wouldn't leave me mind. Fear was taking over my entire system.

"Here's to make sure that you stay away from our prince."

As I looked up, I saw one girl clench her hand into a fist which only meant one thing. I closed my eyes and braced for the hit. However, the hit never came. Instead, I heard a gasp come from the girls right above. That's when I opened my eyes to see Sonoda-san behind them with her hand holding that girl's fist.

"What is going on here?"

"Nothing. Sonoda-san. She just fell and we were trying to help her up."

"So it seems. If I ever catch you alone with her again, you'd best hope you're not alone."

At that moment, the group of girls ran out of the restroom in a hurry. Meanwhile, Sonoda-san knelt down in front of me to check me over.

"Are you okay?"

"I-I… I…" I was shaking uncontrollably. My mind nor my body was responding to anything from the outside world.

"Let's get you to the nurse's office."

Sonoda-san suddenly cradled me in her arms and escorted me to the nurse's office. On the way there, I tried avoiding eye contact with everything around me, but there was one thing that I just so happened to catch. It was Honoka and that girl from that idol group having a little love session. That's when I closed my eyes, hoping to stop the tears from escaping my eyes.

Once we got to the office, she set me down on the bed and went looking for the nurse. Meanwhile, I sat there on the bed with nothing at all. I was weak. I was broken, and I knew that there are certain things in this world that cannot be mended. I was one of those things. I turned my head and saw a fountain pen sitting on the desk right next to my bed. I grabbed it and put it right in front of my face. The tip was nice and sharp. I looked around and saw that no one was around. That's when I took a deep breath and lowered it towards my left forearm. I gripped it tightly with my right hand and slowly pressed it into my skin until blood started to erupt from the wound.

It hurt unlike anything else, but it also felt comforting. It was almost as if I needed to do this. I pressed the pen further into my skin as more blood starting to escape my body. I gritted my teeth in order to fight the pain. Unlike the pain I've been experiencing this past day, I knew that this pain would only last a few seconds. I started to press even harder when the door to the room slammed open.

"What are you doing?!"

I knew that that was Sonoda-san's voice. All I could do was shed the remaining tears I had.

"I'm sorry," I said softly.

She suddenly rushed to my side and tried to separating me from the pen. I fought back though. She kept telling me to stop, but I kept yelling at her that I needed to do this. Unfortunately, she was stronger than me. She grabbed the pen and threw it across the room. she then grabbed a nearby towel and pressed it against my forearm as hard as she could.

"What were you thinking?! This isn't a joke!"

I couldn't answer her. I just sat there with a blank look on my face as she did her best to stop the bleeding.

"You have to keep on living. I know it seems hard, but there is a reason why you're alive now… Please don't leave. I… I need you."

End of Chapter 5


	6. Kotori 6

Together Forever

Chapter 6

That Missing Thing

Somehow, those words caught my attention. They dragged me out of my trance that I was in.

I need you.

What did that mean?

"You… need me?"

"You have to stop this now. You're hurting. I can tell, and I really want to help you. But I'm hurting just as much as you. I need you with me Kotori."

"You need me?" The question continued to run through my brain and out my mouth. I wasn't following this girl's train of thought.

"You may not care for what I'm about to tell you, but I need someone to hear me out. I've been given the gift of endless talent and success. Everything I do, I succeed at which makes my family proud. This also causes a split with the people I know. They all know me as the girl who can't be beat; the girl who could never understand what it's like to be a normal person. Unfortunately for me, I never realized this. It wasn't until I entered my second year of high school when I realized that I was different. The ones that I knew were placing me on a pedestal and the ones who didn't believed that I was a celebrity of sorts. This prevented me from making friends because they thought they couldn't be friends with me. I tried to narrow the gap between us, but as I did that, everyone else widened the gap. I was unlike anyone else. I was alone. And then when I saw you on the edge, it reminded me of my past self. I thought that it would be best to not be a part of this world. I thought that the world didn't need me, but I quickly realized that it did. If I departed early, my family would be torn apart. I couldn't go on knowing that I caused their pain. So, I put on this façade of being a prince so that everyone could smile and be happy. However, I'm the one who is forced to suffer."

Her words were deep and so full of meaning that they were reaching me on an emotional level. For her to say that I reminded her of herself meant that we were similar. However, at a glance, it just didn't seem possible. This girl was perfect. There was no way that we could ever be similar.

"So why live with all of that suffering? Why go on when you know that no one will ever be equal with you?"

"Because I stayed hopeful. I believed, deep down, that I would meet someone that needed me when they needed it most. That person is you. Yes… I don't know a lot about you and you don't know a lot about me, but that doesn't matter. I can keep on going because I know that there's someone that truly needs my help. Now, I selfishly ask this of you."

At that moment, she pressed her head against mine and closed her eyes.

"Live for my sake. Live on knowing that I need you. Live on, knowing that you're important to someone you know. Can you do that?"

There was so much going on right now that it was hard to process it all. This girl just showed me a totally different side of her that I didn't even know existed. How could I possibly say no to her? she literally just gave me a legitimate reason for continuing on.

"Yes I can."

She suddenly opened her eyes with tears forming on all sides.

"You have no idea how long I've been keeping that inside for. Anyway, I'm going to check why the nurse is taking so long. Keep putting pressure on that."

As she left me alone, I was simply speechless. I had just learned so much about her that I didn't know before all of this. It was amazing that she was able to say that so easily in front of my, but the more amazing thing was that they were very similar. The two of us were going through things that were hard for us. However, she's handling it a lot better than me. I mean, I literally just tried to end it again. This was my second time, but thankfully, I was starting to think that that was going to be the last time. I pressed the towel on my arm as hard as I could until the Sonoda-san came in with the nurse.

When she asked me what happened, Sonoda-san told her that I had an accident while in home cooking class. This made me feel a lot better because I couldn't imagine what the nurse would think of me if I told her I tried to kill myself. This all goes back to me not telling my parents. I've taking my life twice and yet; I haven't told them about it. Was it right for me to do this to them? If I were to be confident to tell them, how would I go about doing it? I don't think any person just goes up to their parents and explains that they almost killed themselves. It's just not normal.

After I got all patched, the nurse told me to stay in her office until school got out. I wasn't opposed to this idea since there was no way I could concentrate in class. Unfortunately, Sonoda-san was forced to return. We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways… At least, she did. I was still on the bed. Even though I was alone, it helped me think about everything because the first time in a long time, things were started to become a little clearer.

Humans don't like to be alone. When we are, it makes us feel weak and insignificant. That's why we go out and make friends and start relationships. Meeting Sonoda-san and having her share her heart at me really changed my outlook on things. Before she showed, I was alone which made me feel insignificant. Once she was introduced to me, I started to feel more confident in myself. Unfortunately, it still led me to almost killing myself a second time. with that set aside, I believe that she's the answer to my question. Sometimes, friends are all we need and I really think that she could be a true friend to me.

I want to talk to her. I want her to talk to me. I want to relate with whatever she's done or hasn't done. Deep down, I want to take those first steps at becoming my normal self. I can't do it alone, but I'm sure this girl can help me. She told me that she needed me and that I needed her. What other reason is there for me to live?

…

When school ended for the day, I mustered up the strength to climb out of bed. As I did, the door slid open and in walked Sonoda-san. She asked me how I was feeling and I gave her a big smile, indicating that I was fine. Once I had all my things, the two of us headed down to the shoe lockers.

"Hey Kotori."

"Yeah?"

"I hate myself for doing this to you, but I have archery practice today so I won't be able to walk with you. Are you going to be alright?"

Flashbacks suddenly appeared in my head. They were all revolving around that incident in the bathroom. I didn't want that to happen, but I wanted her to know that I was willing to change. What would be the best thing to say to her?

"Well… Would it be alright if I stayed and watched your practice maybe?" It was the best thing I could come up with, but even I knew that I sounded super hesitant.

"If you want. Sometimes our practices do go pretty late."

"I'll be fine. My teacher didn't tell me anything about homework so I'll be fine."

"Alright then. Follow me."

I followed her to the back of the school where there was an old-style building. That was where the archery club was located. Sonoda-san opened up the door and I saw a group of girls dressed in traditional archery apparel. I couldn't help but smile because those outfits always seemed so cute to me. However, I was visiting so there wasn't much for me to do. There was a bench near the entrance so I took a seat there and watched until their practice ended. It wasn't anything special, but I did find out that Sonoda-san was an ace. She nailed every shot with the highest precision and everyone in the club continuously complimented her on her technique. This made me smile as well. This was truly her talent and success side showing.

When practice was over, they packed everything up and the two of us were allowed to leave. On the way home, I decided to start up a conversation. I simply talked about what I saw and told her how impressed I was. However, there was one thing that was on the tip of my tongue, but just couldn't get out during the moment. After a few minutes, we made it to our first stop which was my house.

"Well, thank you for walking me back."

"No problem. My house is in this direction anyway so there's no hassle," she said with a smile.

"Still. It's generous of you to do this."

"That's what friends do."

There it was again. The idea of being a friend was getting clearer and clearer.

"Well, I'm gonna go. I'll see you tomorrow. Okay?"

Before she could turn and walk away, I blurted out something completely rash and unexpected.

"I would like to be a part of the archery club!"

End of Chapter 6


	7. Kotori 7

Together Forever

Chapter 7

Learning

"You want to join the archery club?" She had a lot of confusion in her voice so I needed to make sure that I clarified myself.

"I want to be in the archery. If I can find something to occupy my time, I'm sure I'll be able to recover."

"Well, if you want to occupy your time, I'm sure there are a lot of other clubs that you can do."

For some reason, her words hit me hard.

"But… But I want to be in a club with you."

"I-I didn't mean it like that. I'm just not sure if the girls will like something else joining the club. For some reason, they're very against outside people joining us. I guess it's all about the close-knit group that they already have… But who cares? If you want to join the archery club, I'll take you with me tomorrow. Does that sound like a plan?"

I nodded my head and said my goodbye to her. After that, I walked into my house and headed up to my room. Compared to yesterday, I felt a lot better about everything. I was able to smile. I was able to forget about the things that have been troubling me all of this time. Of course, they're still in my head, but I feel that they are less of burden now than before.

…

The next day was a chipper one for me. I got ready quickly and headed out the door only to meet up with Sonoda-san who was waiting for me. I still couldn't get over how generous she was to wait for me and walk with me. On our way to school, we were able to talk about more normal things. I couldn't help talking about how easy it was to sleep. All she mentioned was that I was starting to seem like a different person than when we first met. That's when I remembered our first encounter. I was standing all alone in the hallway when she approached with the brightest smile I've ever seen. However, that made me wonder why she picked me.

"Sonoda-san, why did you do it?"

"Huh?"

"Why did you say hi to me of all people? There were so many other girls who were vying for your attention, but you chose to talk to me. Why?"

"I try to be friendly to everyone I meet and since I didn't know you, I thought it be best to make your acquaintance. And I'm glad I did."

I suddenly looked at her and she was smiling at me. At this point, it still seemed like a dream that there was a person in this world this pure and genuine, but here she was. She was walking right next to me as if she wasn't aware of anything at all. Her last comment pretty much ended our conversation, but we arrived in the front of the school at the same time so that's where we split up for the time being.

During the day, I couldn't stop thinking about my request. I was going to join the archery club. This was so uncharacteristic of me because I'm not athletic. Ever since I could remember, sports were never my thing. However, I couldn't this bother me. I promised myself that I would change and this would be the best thing for me. Do something that I'm not normally accustomed to doing. Also, I'll have Sonoda-san by my side so it'll be easy.

…

When school was over, I grabbed my stuff and headed down to the shoe lockers where Sonoda-san was waiting for me. The two of us grabbed the rest of our things and headed to the dojo. On the way there, I was actually pretty nervous, but whenever I looked at Sonoda-san, I saw that she was super calm. I needed to learn from her so I took some nice deep breaths and focused on the task at hand.

The first thing that happened was her handing me the uniform. I quickly got changed and prepared my first lesson. She handed me a bow and started teaching me from there. To my surprise, I had no idea how much technique there was in this sport. The positioning of my hand on the bow as well as where I put the bow when I'm about to shoot was so particular that I really had to focus. Once I got that, Sonoda-san then moved me on to using the actual arrow. Turns out that I don't really touch the arrow when I'm doing the whole thing. After I understood that, we tried the real thing.

Unfortunately, I was having such a hard time. The weight of the string that I was pulling was really heavy. Sonoda-san actually had to stand behind me and pull it for me, but that was it. Once she asked me if I was ready, we let go of them string and watched the arrow soar.

It missed completely.

"Ah man, I thought I did it perfectly."

"You did do it perfectly. I just let go a little too late which threw off the trajectory of the shot. I'm so sorry."

"Sonoda-san, I know for a fact that that was not the case."

"You can't be so hard on yourself. Everyone always has a rough start when trying something new."

"But I just don't think I'm really cut out for this. I just thought it could get my mind off things that have been troubling me. It's kind of working… I guess."

"Well, is there something that you really like to do?"

"Um, I guess there is, but it's not really something that we could do together."

"Well, what is it? I might be able to help."

"You're gonna think I'm such a granny. I like to knit and sew and make clothes." I waited for a response and when I got one, it was Sonoda-san laughing to herself. "Please don't laugh at me."

"I'm not laughing at you. I just think it's so cute. When you think about it, it's a very useful skill. I'd love to see what you can make."

"Um, would it be too much trouble for you to actually try them on?"

"Huh?"

I could tell that my question threw her off so I did my best to try and clarify the whole thing.

"I mean… Could you model my clothes that I've made already?" I looked at her and could see her face turning red. I didn't know her all that much, but I could tell that this was going to be a hard decision for her. It took her about a minute to say yes, but when she did, I was so thankful. I've never shown my clothes to anyone, not even my parents. If this girl could approve of my talent, it would mean the world to me.

…

Once practice was over, we packed up our things and headed home. As we headed home, I couldn't help, but rub my arm and shoulders. The strain of pulling back the string was a little too much for me. Also, my technique of releasing the string caused it to slap my forearm on multiple occasions. When Sonoda-san saw this, she told me to drink lots of water and ice the hurting parts. She knew what she was talking about so I didn't question her. After a few minutes, we finally made it to my house. She walked me to the front door and the two of us looked at each other with smiles on our faces.

"Well, thank you for walking back Sonoda-san."

"You're welcome. Also… You know I've told you to call me by my first name. Hearing my last name just sounds weird."

"I know. It's just… It's embarrassing."

"How is it embarrassing?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'm just being weird."

"Try it right now."

She was threatening in any way, but for some reason, it was so hard to bring myself to speak her first name. I went through it as quickly as I could in my head, but as I tried speaking it, it just wouldn't come out.

"U-mi. Just like that."

The way she said her own name just sounded to smooth. As I thought about it, her first name did have a lot more flow than her last name. That's when I tightened up everything in my body and spoke her name.

"U-Umi-chan."

"There you go. It wasn't so hard, right?"

I couldn't respond to her. I was too filled with feelings I couldn't understand.

"Well, I gotta head home. I'll see you tomorrow Kotori. Bye."

She waved goodbye to me and I did the same thing to her. In my head, all I could think about was the two of us. Another day went by and I was starting to feel even more comfortable being around her.

"See you tomorrow… Umi-chan."

End of Chapter 7


	8. Kotori 8

Together Forever

Chapter 8

Coming Back Around

Things were starting to finally settle down with me. Meeting Umi-chan in the morning to walk to school together was a regular thing that I didn't even need to think about anymore. Classes were okay. Lunch was another thing that was second nature to us. We took our lunch underneath one of the trees in the courtyard of the school and enjoyed our time together. Something that really made me happy was that our conversations were becoming a lot less awkward. We were able to talk about whatever we wanted and we didn't have to worry. All I could think about was how amazing this girl was.

She literally took me in and made me want to live again. This still surprises me because as we hang out more and more, I notice that she only really talks to me. Other girls try to get a word in, but she just smiles and moves along. It may seem standoffish, but they all love her regardless; and I'm lucky enough to be with her all of the time.

With the school day over, we ready ourselves for another day of archery practice. Personally, I was kind of excited because I wanted to show Umi-chan that I was ready to improve. My first day wasn't all that great, but I knew there was no way that I could do worse than that.

Once everyone was ready, we let loose our arrows. Unfortunately, Umi-chan didn't get to do a lot of shooting since she was making sure that I was doing everything right. The thing was that her comments were a lot less recurrent. I shot multiple arrows with only a few corrections her and there. When the first round was over, we dropped our bows and retrieved our arrows.

"Kotori, you're already making great progress. I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you. You know that I wouldn't have been able to do it without you."

"Don't worry about it. It's my job to make sure everyone in the archery club feels confident in their ability."

"Well, thank you."

"You're welcome."

When all of the arrows were retrieved, we went another round. This time, Umi decided to shoot some arrows. When this happened, I couldn't help but watch her. As I watched her, I almost thought I was dreaming. Everything about her form and style was simply breathtaking. Her posture was perfect, her form looked like something out of a movie, and her accuracy was way above any of the other girls. Once she was done, she turned back around to see how I was doing and that's when I realized that I hadn't shoot a single arrow. I quickly pulled one out and did my best to make it look like I was concentrating on the target… It didn't work.

"Halt!"

The field manager called for everyone to stop firing and my face just went red. My target was completely empty with my arrow bag completely full. I didn't know what to say. However, Umi surprised me yet again.

"I appreciate you watching me, but if you're gonna do that, you can just step out for a round."

"Haha, right… Sorry."

Once practice was over, we headed home like we usually did. Smiles were on our faces as things were finally becoming normal between us. I didn't have any worries anymore and it looked as though Umi was enjoying herself as well. Life was seeming to be perfect all of the way up until the unthinkable happened to me.

…

Another morning went by and I was walking to my classroom when my name was called out from behind. I didn't recognize it so I turned around and immediately got swamped by a girl I did not recognize. She buried her face in my chest and was crying hysterically.

"Um, what's wrong?"

"Tsubasa-chan broke up with me. Please comfort me."

I was speechless. The girl was clinging to me was the same girl that I nearly devoted my entire life to me. Of course, this made me completely mindless. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to say. I just stood there and let her tears soak my uniform. It wasn't until about a minute later when I finally thought of something to say.

"I don't…"

"I'm sorry." She interjected to promptly which forced me to stop talking. "What I did to you, what I said to you; I take it all back. I'm so sorry. Please just… Stay like this."

I was growing weak at the knees. I couldn't believe what was happening to me. My behavior led us to staying like that until the bell rang. When it rang, she asked if I could meet her on the roof during lunch. I was a little hesitant, but I eventually agreed to meeting with her. Unfortunately, that meant not being able to eat lunch with Umi-chan. A big part of me was saying I should let her know that I had plans. However, a small part of me was saying just to go with the flow of things. I grew weak and decided to go with the flow of things.

When lunch came around, I packed up my things and headed to roof. On the way there, I was actually afraid that this girl might not even be there. The circumstances were still a little weird and I wasn't really sure why all of this was happening to me. However, I was given a surprise. She was waiting for me on the roof. My entrance caught her attention, causing her to run at me and wrap her arms around me.

"So why are we meeting here? I'm confused." I had to be honest because I wanted to know what was really going on here.

"I was dumb. I was stupid. I rejected you horribly because I was so involved in the idea of love that I couldn't think straight. But now, I'm ready to take things seriously. You said that I was this special person to you. Well, I'm ready to be that special person. I'm ready to accept your feelings because I want to be with you. I want to get to know you."

My heart started beating out of my chest. I told myself to forget everything about this girl, but as she spoke the words to my face, I couldn't help but remember back to all of those lifetimes we shared together. The love and affection that we gave to each other; it was all coming back to me.

"So what do you say? Will accept my apologies and my request?"

…

When school ended, I quickly headed down to the lockers to see if I could meet up with Umi-chan. Thankfully, I did so I pulled her aside to tell her what happened.

"I missed you at lunch. What happened?"

"You're not going to believe what just happened. You know the girl that I told you about."

"You mean… The one that you've dated multiple times before."

"Yeah, her." I could tell the details were a little jumbled up for her, but she pretty much got the gist of it. "Well, she got dumped and now she said she's ready to accept my feelings. Isn't that great? What do you think?"

There was a long pause before she answered me.

"That's great. I'm so happy it managed to work out for you."

"Really? I'm so thankful you think that. Your opinion means a lot to me."

"So what are you gonna do now?"

"Well, her and I are gonna walk home together. I hope that's okay."

"Of course it's okay. I have things I need to do today anyway. Maybe another time, okay?"

"Alright."

"I hope you have fun."

And like that, our conversation ended. I don't know how this change of heart came about, but it felt so right. The girl I've loved for so long has finally come back to me. It was almost like a dream and I was pretty much living a dream. As we walked home, we immediately started catching up on everything that we've been through. She talked about all of the stuff that she liked and everything matched up with her previous lives. When it was my turn, I talked about all of the stuff that I've been through and she was really intrigued. However, I didn't tell her about those two incidents that I had. For some reason, I felt that I could talk about that with Umi-chan.

She was the first house that we came across. When we arrived, she gave me a big hug and said that we could walk back and forth from school every day if I wanted. Of course, I agreed to this since this would give us more time to spend with each other, and that's all I wanted. I wanted to be with this girl.

And now, she wants to be with me. How life has its ways.

End of Chapter 8


	9. Kotori 9

Together Forever

Chapter 9

The Fairy Tale Continues

The next day started off with a bang. I got ready as quickly as I could and headed to Honoka-chan's house. As expected, she was outside waiting for me. She had such a bright smile on her face that I could never forget it. As we walked to school, we immediately got caught up with everything. I learned all about her high school experience up to this point and it sounded exactly like what I expected. On the other hand, I told her all about me and how I've been waiting to meet her.

During the school day, there wasn't much that went on. We had lunch together and then once school was done, we'd head home together. Unfortunately, because of this, I couldn't go to archery club with Umi-chan. Thankfully, she was fine with this.

After our first week together, we decided to go on a date. School idols were far off the radar since Honoka-chan recently came out of a bad relationship with one. Instead, we decided to go to the movies. For me, it was a great experience because we got to be close without saying a single thing to each other. I knew that deep down that we both understood what each of us were feeling. Once the movie was over, we headed to dinner where we caught up even more. That's when I decided to get a little more serious with our relationship.

"So what do you remember?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've told you about how I've lived multiple lives, right?"

"Oh yeah. That definitely caught me off guard when you told me about. I didn't really think it was true, but after a while, I got comfortable with the fact."

"So are you not the same as me?"

"It's hard to answer that. I definitely don't remember anything before I became conscious, if you know what I mean."

"I get it," I said with a laugh.

"It wasn't really until I broke up with Tsubasa when something in my chest felt off. I was heartbroken at first, but then I realized that it wasn't the end of the world. My mind immediately thought about you. I thought maybe you would be the one to make me happy. I was totally right."

At that moment, she grabbed my hand and looked me in the eyes.

"I think I love you. I know we're probably too young to understand what love is, but…"

"No. I feel the same way." I placed my free hand on top of hers and gave her a bright smile. "We can learn what it is together."

"Mm. sounds good."

…

Now, a month went by and I was starting to think of special ways to tell Honoka-chan how much she means to me. It was really difficult though. In my past lives, this was the time that really tested my dedication to her. However, I always came through in the end. I just wasn't sure of what we should do for the special occasion. I even had to ask Umi-chan what she thought would be the best thing for us. Unfortunately, she was unsure of the whole thing so it was kind of a waste of time. That's when I knew to just wing it and see where things would go. I recalled back to my old lives and tried to mash something together.

Once everything was ready, I pulled out my phone and dialed her number.

"Hello?"

"Hi Honoka-chan."

"Hey Kotori-chan, what's up?"

"Um, I was just wondering if you were busy tomorrow."

"I actually am. We're going to go visit our family on the countryside and it'll be an all-weekend thing. I'm sorry."

"Oh, it's alright. Family's important and I wouldn't want you to miss it so I hope you have fun. We'll just do it next weekend."

"Do what?"

"Nothing. It's going to be a surprise."

"Well alright then. Also, the signal's really bad over there so I probably won't be able to answer my phone. We'll just have to catch up when I come back."

"Okay. Talk to you soon."

"Bye."

As I hung up the phone, I couldn't help but get a little bummed out. Things have been going so well for us and now, a bump in the road has finally occurred. Of course, I can't get mad since she's doing something with her family. I just wish I wouldn't have to be the same weekend as our first month anniversary.

I looked out my window and saw that it was already nighttime so it meant that there was nothing else I could do today. I was getting tired anyway so heading to bed didn't seem like such a bad idea. However, as I skimmed through my phone, I saw my only other contact and decided to see what was going on with Umi-chan. It's actually been quite some time since we've spoken to each other. I dialed her number and waited for her to respond.

"Hello?"

"Hi Umi-chan."

"Kotori, it's been so long. How are you?"

"I'm good, thank you. How are you? I'm sorry for not keeping in touch with you. I've just had a lot of things going on in my life."

"Oh, it's totally alright. I've been doing a lot of things too so it's fine. Anyway, what's up?"

"Well, I had some plans this weekend, but got ruined so I was wondering if you'd like to stay over at my house instead."

"Really? I'd love to… I'm really proud of you, Kotori."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm sorry. That kind of slipped out. I was just thinking about how much you've changed. You've opened up so much, especially with me and it makes me really happy."

For some reason, my chest got a little tight. Hearing her saying that behavior was making her happy made me feel all happy inside. It was a strange feeling, but it was something that I wasn't against. At the same time, I was getting a little confused. That feeling I used to get when I was with Honoka-chan was now being felt when I was with Umi-chan. It didn't make any sense because I've been spending more time with Honoka-chan than Umi-chan lately and yet, Umi-chan makes me feel special. What did this mean? Why couldn't I figure out what it all meant?

"It… It makes me happy too."

"So when would you like me to come over?"

"You can come over at noon tomorrow."

"Okay, sounds good. Is there anything that I need to bring?"

"Just a change of clothes. We'll provide everything else."

"Okay. I'll see you then."

"Bye."

After that, I hung up the phone and rested it on my chest. Although my original plans of being with Honoka-chan has been postponed, being able to be with Umi-chan made it all the better. But then again… That question popped up in my head again. Even just saying her name puts my mind and body at ease. Why is that? Honoka-chan and I have finally met common ground and yet, another girl seems to be splitting us up. I'm supposed to be with Honoka-chan.

Umi-chan is just a friend… A very close friend… Who's been there for me when I needed it most… Who's cared about me regardless of the situation…

And yet, something inside me keeps telling me that Honoka-chan will be the more loving person in my life.

End of Chapter 9


	10. Kotori 10

Together Forever

Chapter 10

My Own Struggles

The next morning was a busy one for me. I made sure the entire house was clean and that I had everything that was needed to house a guest: Extra blankets, a futon, pillows, and all of the other things like that. Once it hit noon, I freshened up and waited for Umi-chan to show up. Like always, she showed up right on time and I invited her in.

This was her first time coming to my house so I decided to give her a little tour. My house wasn't anything special so the tour didn't last long. When that was done, we headed into the kitchen where my mom graciously provided us with some snacks until dinner.

"I really like your house, Kotori. It feels very comfortable."

"Thank you. I'm an only child so my parents did their best to make it feel homey."

"I would hope a house would feel homey. Didn't you ever feel bored as an only child?"

"Yes and no. I'm sure you can guess the pluses and minuses of being an only child. Wait a second, do you have siblings?"

"Yeah. I know it may not seem like it, but I have an older sister."

"Really? To be completely honest, I thought you were an only child too."

"I pretty much am. She's a lot older than me and has a life of her own so sometimes, I forget that I have a sister."

"Aw, I'm sorry."

Even though I've known Umi-chan the longest out of all of the people I've met, I was still getting to know her. And the funny thing was that she was still surprising me at every turn. After our little snack, we moved up to my room where we got comfortable for the afternoon.

"So how are you and Honoka-san doing?"

This question came out of nowhere and it definitely caught me off guard. I never pictured Umi-chan to ask me something like that.

"We're fine. We were going to hang out this weekend, but she ended up doing something with her family so…" A few seconds went by until I realized what I had just said. "Oh! In no way does this make you my second choice. Please don't take it that way. I'm sorry."

"Kotori, it's fine. I originally had plans myself, but they ended up getting cancelled so I'm glad we got to hangout."

"Oh okay. Haha." After that, the conversation got a little awkward with silence so I did my best at coming up with something else to talk about. "So you do you have someone that you like, Umi-chan?"

"Huh?"

"Oh come on, you're the prince of our school. I'm sure all of the girls are lining up to simply talk to you. I'm so jealous."

"Trust me. It's not something I'm particularly happy about. I don't know why they treat me like that. I even tell them that they can just talk to me, but they continue to treat me like some celebrity."

"It's because you're so pretty. Everyone's jealous and that makes them feel scared to talk to you."

"I guess."

I looked at her and could tell her getting sad. And then, I remembered that she didn't even answer my initial question.

"Oh yeah, who do you like? I wanna know. I'm sure there's someone out there that you like."

"Haha. You really like this topic, don't you?"

"Of course. I'm a helpless romantic. What can I do? Anyway, stop avoiding the subject and tell me who's on your special list?"

"Okay okay. Calm down. There is someone. I'm not quite sure that I like them or anything. I just feel good whenever I'm around them."

"Aw! That's so cute."

"Yeah. I just… I don't think they even see me."

"What do you mean? I mean, unless if you're hiding in a corner, I'm sure they'll be able to see you."

"It's not like that. I meant it as a metaphor. They're with someone else and I feel that that someone else isn't the best person for them."

"Oh, I see."

"You do?"

"Of course. It's your typical case of unrequited love. I know it may sound a bit disheartening, but I promise… With your beauty and charm, you'll get across to this person and make them yours. Whoever it is, they're one lucky person."

"Kotori… That person is you."

All of a sudden, everything stopped. To my eyes, it felt as if the entire world stopped and only Umi-chan existed. She looked at me with honest eyes and trembling hands.

"Me?"

"Forgive me."

At that moment, Umi-chan leaned across the floor and stole a kiss from my lips. I didn't know what to do. I honestly didn't even know what was happening. All I knew was that her lips and incredibly soft. That's when I tried to remember the sensation of being kissed by Honoka, but I couldn't. There something else stopping me from thinking about it. As the kiss went on, my mind started to get more and more blank until she finally broke away. My eyes were still closed, but I knew that Umi-chan was still looking at me.

"Umi-chan…" As I opened my eyes, I could feel a tear running down my face. "Huh?"

"Oh my God, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry. I just…"

I suddenly covered my face with one hand and used the over one to cut her off mid-sentence.

"Umi-chan, you know I love Honoka-chan. Why would you do that?"

"I don't know what came over me. I just…"

I couldn't control it anymore. I stood up and ran out of the room in search of the bathroom. Once I got there, I let it all out. I didn't know why I was crying. It wasn't the type of crying one does when they feel hurt. It was another kind of crying that I didn't even know existed.

So many things were going through my head that I just couldn't just understand. What made her say that that person was me? Why couldn't I think about Honoka-chan when she kissed me? Does this make me a bad person for cheating on Honoka-chan. I know that it just a kiss, but the smallest things done against a partner in a relationship can end up being a lot worse in the end. I just didn't know what to do or think. Umi-chan is a special person to me. She made me feel wanted again. She saved me. I can't just end it all there. I'm in her debt. What am I supposed to do?

I don't know how much time had passed, but when I left the bathroom and returned to my room, Umi-chan was gone. All that was left was a note on my bed.

 _Kotori, I'm terribly sorry about what I did to you. That was stupid and immature of me to do. If you believe that being my friend is too hard on you, I understand completely. I just want your life to be happy and carefree. If I can't do that as a friend, then what good am I at all? I hope that we can continue to be friends, but for now, I think it would be best for us to keep our distance. I'll continue to think about what I did and what I can do better so that doesn't happen again. I just want to see you smile again. ~Umi_

Umi-chan left. That wasn't what I wanted at all. I wanted to hang out with her all weekend. She didn't have to leave. That's when I grabbed my phone and dialed her up. Unfortunately, it went straight to voicemail. I tried again, but I got the same result. That's when I decided to leave her message.

"Umi-chan, I'm sorry. None of this is your fault. Of course I want to continue being friends with you. After all, you're like the most important person in my life. I… I guess I'll see you at school then."

…

The rest of the weekend was a long one, but eventually school came around once again. I got ready as quickly as I could to hopefully catch Umi-chan before class began. As I ran to school, I managed to catch Honoka. However, it looked as though she walking into an alleyway. I tried calling out to her, but she escaped without hearing me. I looked at my watch and saw that I had some time so I decided to chase after her. Once I made it to that alleyway, I peeked in and saw her making out with another. She was a smaller girl with red hair. I didn't know her, but I did know what was going on.

My chest suddenly felt as though something inside of it had exploded. I clenched my fists, closed my eyes, and ran to school as fast as I could. Without taking a second look, I ran past the school entrance and into the shoe locker area where I was stopped by a body. They held onto me which kept me from falling to the ground. When I opened my eyes, I saw that it was Umi-chan.

"Kotori, are you okay?"

I couldn't respond. The tears were coming and they were coming fast.

"Umi-chaaan!"

End of Chapter 10


	11. Kotori 11

Together Forever

Chapter 11

The Worst Pain…

I buried my face in her chest and let out everything. There was no need to hide it. I was with Umi-chan. She understood me and didn't care about any of the other things going on. I held her as tight as I could and she did the same for me. As it turned out, she ended up walking me down the hall and into the infirmary. At first, I didn't really see a reason for me to be in here, but when she gently lay me down on the bed, it seemed to help out. She let me empty my tears before saying anything. All the while, she stayed by my side.

"I'm sorry. I was hoping you'd never see me like that. I… I think I'm good now."

"So what happened," she asked as she grabbed my hand.

Immediately as she touched, her warmth gripped my hand and then spread through the rest of my body. This allowed me to get through what I needed to with a lot more ease.

"I was making my way to school in hopes of meeting up with Honoka. There was a lot that I wanted to talk to her about, but as I was walking, I spotted someone who looked a lot like her walk into an alley. I had a good feeling it was Honoka so I decided to follow her into it, but as I got the opening, I saw her making out with another girl. There was no struggle… The two of them were doing it because they wanted to. After that, I just ran to school with tears escaping my eyes and that's when I ran into you." Even though Umi-chan's warmth was comforting, I could feel my arms and legs start to tremble. Hearing those words come out of my mouth gave me chills.

Honoka was making out with another girl even though she had me. Why?

"So I'm guessing you haven't spoken to her at all this morning?"

I couldn't speak. I shook my head with great sadness.

"Okay. Just stay here and get some rest. I'll be sure to let your teacher know that you're not feeling too good."

As she stood up, I couldn't help but grab her hand to make sure that she wouldn't escape.

"Where are you going?"

"Don't worry. I'll go let your teacher know and then get you something to drink. I'm sure running here took a lot out of you."

"O-Okay."

At that moment, I let go of her hand and watched her leave the room in silence. Shortly after that, my eyelids grew heavy and I ended up falling asleep.

…

I had no idea how much time went by, but all I knew was that Umi-chan still hadn't returned. I looked at the clock and saw that it was lunch time. That's when I decided that it was time to get back into the swing of things. I couldn't stay in bed all day so I returned my feet and exited the room. As I was walking, I could feel my stomach starting to grumble so I changed my path and headed to the cafeteria. As I grew closer to the cafeteria, I could see a huge crowd of people amassing close by. It was in my way so I decided to investigate. When I was able to poke my head through to see what was happening, I saw Umi-chan angrily talking to Honoka-chan.

Slap!

"You don't deserve to be with Kotori. All she wants is to be loved and all you do is lie and cheat behind her back. You don't care at all, do you?"

"I care."

"You're lying again. You have no idea what kind of person Kotori is, do you? Have you ever spent any time with her? Have you ever cared about what she liked or what she wanted to do? Do you even know that you're the person who has caused so much pain and heartache to her? No… You don't. You don't care one bit. I've heard the rumors about you. You're the heartbreak girl that everybody talks about. You set your eyes on one girl and once they become boring, you move on to another without a second thought towards the other girl's feelings. You're…"

At that moment, Honoka-chan charged at Umi-chan and shoved her to the ground. The force of the attack sent her into the wall behind her. She hit it really hard, but still maintained her focus. As I watched, I could tell that Umi-chan only cared about confronting Honoka-chan.

"Why should I care about what you say? You're the school prince. You break girls' heart every day since you could never commit to a serious relationship with them. I've heard the rumors about you too. Whenever some girl tries to confess to you, you just give them a smile and say that you're busy. Admit it, you're just as bad as me… Maybe even worse."

"Don't you dare compare yourself to me. The only reason why I choose not to love someone else is because I don't want to let them in and then hurt them. You have no idea how precious a girl's heart is. What you're doing… You're giving them hope and then throwing it away as if it's trash. That's far worse than anything I'll ever do."

"You…"

"Alright, that's enough! Break it up or I will do it for you!"

It was so hard to break my concentration away from this argument when a teacher entered the fray. Quickly after they arrived, the scene dissipated into nothingness and Honoka-chan walked away. On the other hand, Umi-chan stood there motionless. I was afraid to approach her since I've never seen this side of her before, but I needed to make sure that she was alright.

"Umi-chan?" I walked up next to her and that quickly ended her previous façade.

"Kotori, are you okay?"

"Who cares about me? Are you okay? You hit that wall pretty hard."

"Oh you saw that," she asked as she turned her head away from mine.

"What do you mean?"

"I meant to confront Kousaka-san on my own. I didn't want you to know about because I knew it would hurt you even more. I'm sorry you had to see that."

"It's okay. I'm just glad to know that you care about me. That's the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you."

"Of course. I…"

"Huh?"

"It's nothing."

The two of us kind of stood there awkwardly for a few seconds until Umi-chan asked me something.

"Hey Kotori, could you me outside the school gates when school gets out today?"

"Sure."

"Thank you. There's something I really need to talk to you about."

"Okay."

…

Because of that incident, we were forced to go back to class. There was no way to ditch when the teacher plainly saw me and Umi-chan. During class, it was hard for me to focus because I had a lot of things going on in my head. I still couldn't shake the idea of Honoka-chan hurting me again. It just didn't seem possible for her to do something like that. We've been together so long and yet, she suddenly changes character like that. I didn't change at all. Why did she have to change?

However, there was another thing running around in my head. It was Umi-chan. Witnessing her scary side definitely gave me a different impression of her. I thought that she was just a nice, caring girl, but I've come to realize that she's super strong; something that I could never be. It was almost as if she was a different person. Her eyes, her tone of voice; everything about her when she was confronting Honoka-chan was completely different. I still couldn't believe that that was the Umi-chan who saved me from the roof only about a few months ago.

When school got out, I packed my things and made my way to the school gate. As I looked out towards the horizon, I saw Umi-chan waiting for me. I gave her the best smile I could muster up and the two of us walked off to a nearby park. During our walk there, Umi-chan said absolutely nothing. Her eyes were focused on the road of ahead of her while I couldn't help but stare at her the entire time. Even though the two of us shared our pasts to each other, there was still so much that I didn't know about this girl. She was different, but to me, it was a good different.

When we made it to the park, we sat down on the bench and waited a few more seconds. I didn't know why we were here so I just waited until Umi-chan said whatever it was that she needed to say to me.

"Kotori, I need to apologize for what I did today. That's not the usual me. I just got so mad that I couldn't hold it in any longer."

"What? You know you've already apologized for that? Why are you doing it again?"

There was a brief pause in our conversation.

"Because I care about you. I don't know the extent of the scene you witnessed this morning, but I know that it really hurt you. I don't want you to get hurt anymore. That's why I want to be the special person in your life. Let me make you happy. I promise to love and cherish you no matter happens."

My body tensed up. Her words were heavy and hit my full force. That's when it reminded me of when we were at my house and she stole a kiss from my lips. It was random, but comforting.

"But I…"

"I'm sorry. I don't want to believe that you still love Kousaka-san. After everything that she's done to you… After all the pain that you've been suffering… You can't love her."

"Umi-chan…"

At that moment, she stole another kiss from my lips. Unlike the first time, this kiss felt desperate. It was almost as if I was kissing someone who's never experienced love before. Now, I can't really say that I'm an expert at it either, especially in this lifetime, but I do know that the person kissing me, at that moment, was not Umi-chan. That's when I had to pull away from it.

"Why did you do that?" When I looked at her, I saw a few tears running down her face.

"Because I love you. I want to love you, and I want you to love me."

"I…"

"Please… You're the only person I have." That's when she dropped her head in sadness.

I couldn't ignore this so I walked up to her and raised her head back up to look at me.

"Umi-chan, you're the most important person in my life. When you found me on the roof, I thought I was just lucky that someone was passing by, but as we grew closer, I started to realize that you were special. Even with Honoka-chan on my mind all of the time, somehow, you stuck your way into my thoughts and it made me happy. When you kissed me the other day, I couldn't have been happier. I just…"

"What?"

"What if this doesn't end up working? You said it yourself. You'd end up hurting me or worse, I might end up hurting you."

"None of that matters. We can figure it out together. You wanna know why?"

"Why?"

"Because you're worth it. I'm willing to give everything for you. I will make you happy, I will make you smile, I will protect you no matter what, I… I'll… I'll think of anything and everything that I need to do to make sure that we stay together, I…"

I grabbed her by cheeks to make her stop talking.

"If I'm good enough for you, I will be happy to be with you."

End of Chapter 11


	12. Kotori 12

Together Forever

Chapter 12

Steps Along the Way

That night was a sleepless one for me. Without even thinking about it, I confessed to Umi-chan. She was the one who did most of the confessing, but I returned her feelings and that's pretty much the same thing. Now that I think about it, I don't really know why I couldn't fall asleep. I think it was just the thought that Umi-chan cared about me that much. She's been with me from the start and now, she's truly by my side.

When I woke up the next morning, I quickly got ready and headed for school. Right as I left my house, Umi-chan was waiting for me just outside the gate to my house. She gave me a warm smile as well as a good morning which made me feel good. I returned the gesture and the two of us headed off to school.

On the way there, we didn't really talk that much, but it didn't feel awkward at all. Umi-chan knew me and I knew her so I guess the both of us just felt that silence would have been the best course of action.

When I reached the school ground, the first person I saw Honoka. Like all of the past times I've seen her, she was flirting with another girl and that girl was enjoying it. All I could do was revert my eyes, but as I did, Umi-chan held my hand in hers and continued to act like she did the entire trip here. At that moment, I couldn't help but look at her. She didn't say anything. She just looked at me and smiled. That's when all of the girls who saw us started to squeal and cry in jealousy. I didn't know how to react to this so I just avoided eye contact from everyone around as best as I could. Once we made it into the shoe locker, that's where we were forced to go our separate ways.

"I'll meet you for lunch, okay."

"Okay."

She kissed me on the cheek and walked off. As I watched her leave, I could feel the numbers of eyes quickly look my way. That's when I booked it to my classroom and simply waited for lunch to come around.

When it did, so much weight was lifted off my shoulders as Umi-chan walked into the classroom and pulled up a desk next to mine. That's when I was able to finally breathe. There was just something about Umi-chan that made me feel comfortable. As we finished up our lunch, Umi-chan brought up a topic that totally escaped my mind.

"So are you coming back to the archery club today?"

"Huh?"

"Archery. You know you're still a part of the club."

"Oh right. I totally forgot about that. I guess I could. You're going to be there, right?"

"Of course I am. I am the captain of the team. It wouldn't look very good if I skipped a practice. Besides, we need to get you back into the groove of things. If I remember correctly, you were having a pretty hard time when you first time."

"Hmph! You don't have to remind me."

"Haha, I'm sorry."

Even though I was forced to think back about how bad I was at archery, the sound of Umi-chan's laugh made it all better. I knew that she was trying to make me feel bad. If I wanted to take this seriously, I had to make sure that I was ready for the worst of whatever was to come.

The rest of the day was pretty boring. I managed to get through the rest of my classes without any more unwanted attention. Once they were over, I packed up my things and headed to dojo towards the back of the school. As I slid the door, I was hoping to see Umi-chan waiting for me, but instead, it was the rest of the club. They all turned their heads and gave me scary looks that froze me dead in my tracks. I stood there motionless for a few seconds before I knew that I had to do something. I slowly walked into the large room and placed my stuff on the ground. I then went to the changing room where my uniform was. To my surprise, it was perfectly intact. I grabbed it off of the hangar and started to change. Unfortunately, I was stopped short of finishing the process. The door slammed opened and turned around half naked to see the entire club looking right at me.

"Um… Was I not supposed to change in here?"

They didn't answer. They simply walked in and surrounded me.

"You think you're special, stealing our beloved prince from us."

"Huh?"

"Don't act innocent. We all know you've taken her from us and now, Sonoda-senpai won't even look our way."

At that moment, one of the girls pushed me and forced me to fall back. Thankfully, one of the girls was there to stop. The bad thing about that was that she wasn't there to save me. She pushed back the other way until I couldn't pinpoint what direction I was facing. This went on for a few seconds until they back away and let me crash into the ground. I knew the tears were coming, but I couldn't let that show to them or else they would get the idea that they had won. However, it wasn't like I was trying to win anything. I didn't even know why this was happening to me again.

"Hey!"

I knew that voice.

"What's going on in here?"

The crowd of girls started to break apart as Umi-chan stood above me in concern.

"Kotori." She took off her blazer and placed around me. "What is the matter with you girls?!"

"Sonoda-san, we can ex…"

"I don't want to hear. You're all suspended from this dojo for a week! Get out!"

"But Sonoda-san, we…"

"NOW!"

All of the girls cowered in fear as Umi-chan raised her voice. Even I was scared at what I just heard. This was yet another side of Umi-chan that I have never seen. Once everyone had left, she turned around to face me with a look of sadness.

"Kotori, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."

"How is it your fault? That doesn't make any sense. You can't blame yourself."

"No I have to. If I was smarter and addressed before having you return, you wouldn't be in this situation."

"Umi-chan, it's…"

"You know what… Let's just cancel practice today. It'll be hard for you to concentrate after something like that." She started to stand up, but I stuck my hand and grabbed hers before she could get away.

"No, I can p… I want to practice today."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded my head and tried to give her the greatest look of determination. For a second, she just stood there, but eventually, she decided to go along with it. After that, I got changed and the two of us managed to have a private lesson together.

Once that was over, we headed home for the day. On the way there, Umi-chan couldn't help but talk about why her club members threatened me like that. She didn't really know the full extent of the situation, but she did know that she couldn't let this kind of behavior slide. On the other hand, I tried telling her that it was okay, but she wouldn't have it either. However, once she was done with her little rant, she took my hand and smiled at me. It was probably just me, but I was becoming weaker every time she smiled at me like that. Her hand was so warm that it only made it harder for me to act normal around her. When we made it to my house, we went through the normal procedure. She walked me to the door and kissed me on the cheek.

"Kotori, I'm really sorry about what happened today. I promise it'll never happen again."

"Umi-chan, I keep telling you that it's okay."

"You can't be okay with this. Every girl at our school has been out for you and it's because of me. This is all my fault so it's my responsibility to fix it."

At that moment, I put my hand on her cheek which made her look right at me with a confused face.

"You can't carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. It's only going to hurt you in the long run."

"I know. I just… I made a promise to myself that I would never see you sad again."

My heart skipped a beat. This girl was something else that I just couldn't understand. I couldn't help myself anymore. I jumped at her with my arms wide open and hugged as tight as I could.

"Umi-chan, I don't deserve you at all."

"You've got it all wrong. I don't deserve you. I love you."

"I… I love you too." Those words sent a tickle through my entire body. All of this time, I've always been the affectionate type to Honoka-chan, but now, I've been put in my place. Umi-chan is the one who's showing all of the affection and I'm just along for the ride. But to be completely honest, I didn't care and neither did Umi-chan. She was a genuine person who cared about me. I just wanted to return the favor as best as I could.

End of Chapter 12


	13. Kotori 13

Together Forever

Chapter 13

Time to Concentrate

 **Note:** Because it's been so long since I've last updated, you can expect longer chapters from here until the end of the story. Expect a question at the end of this chapter asking for your guys' input about the future of this story. Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy and I hope to hear back from you guys.

For the rest of the week, archery club was just me and Umi-chan. It was nice. She was able to teach me everything she knew and I was able to watch everything she did. I know it sounds weird to watch her every move, but it truly helped me. She was a great teacher and a great example. It was almost as if she was the one who created the art of archery.

The more I spent time with her alone, the more my mind started to wander and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Her long beautiful hair flowing in the wind. Her strong amber eyes made me weak in the knees. Her slender body got me all heated inside.

I know it's wrong to check out another person without their permission. It didn't seem that wrong since Umi-chan and I were a thing. I just wanted to give her more respect as a woman because she was clearly more of a woman than I was. She could do it all and make it look easy. When we weren't at archery, she would be helping me with my academics. If it wasn't academics, we would hang out. Her cooking skills were amazing, as if I was dining with a world-famous chef. And of course, her mannerisms were something I have never seen before. Her grace and elegance made me feel like I wasn't even a girl.

The one thing I did have her beat at was my knitting skills. She told me all about how she tried to get into it, but she just never had the knack for it. This made me feel good. I was horribly losing to her in every aspect, but to have one thing I was good at that she wasn't made it all the better.

Umi-chan decided to make it official to the entire school that we were together. It was an interesting move for her to do this, but I guess it was needed. All of the girls were giving me horrible looks and wanting to rid me of Umi-chan, but Umi-chan had more to her plan than I initially thought. We walked to school together, ate lunch together, and walked home together. Umi-chan may have tried to hide it, but I knew that she was on the lookout constantly. When we walked together, she locked her hand with mine and gave anyone who looked at me the death glare. Personally, it was kind of scary, but I knew that she was doing all of this for a reason. Umi-chan wasn't an irrational person.

Eventually, Umi-chan started up a conversation with me that was a lot different than what I was normally used to. She took it very seriously so I did the same.

"Kotori, I hope you're not mad at me."

"Eh? Why would I be mad at you? You've done nothing wrong."

"No, I have. I've been pretty much secluding you from the outside world. I make sure no one looks at you wrong and I make sure no one talks to you wrong. I'm almost like a dog who's too territorial about its space."

"Umi-chan, it's not like that at all. I don't mind at all. When I first came to this school, I had the intention of trying to make as many friends as I could. Unfortunately, it took a turn for the worst where no one wanted to be my friend. It wasn't until you showed up where my life changed. It got easier and you made me feel wanted. That's when I realized all I really needed was you."

"So you're not mad with my doglike manners?"

"Of course not. In all honesty, I think it's pretty cute."

My words obviously hit the sweet spot because Umi-chan ended up blushing and turning away. I don't see this side of her often, but when I do, it's worth the wait.

…

More time went by and our first archery competition came around. When the club members' suspension was revoked, they apologized to me and got to work. Surprisingly, they were a lot nicer and a lot more supportive towards me. I could still feel a tension in the atmosphere, but I knew that Umi-chan changed them. This also made me feel bad. Umi-chan was doing this all for me and I wasn't doing anything for her. How was our relationship fair? She's works so hard for me and I just sit back and enjoy the luxuries that she provides for me.

I wanted to change that.

I had to change that… somehow.

…

It was the day of our competition and I was super nervous. I didn't how these things worked and I didn't even know how I would fare against the other club members. It was a big event with at least ten other school clubs competing. The layout of the tournament went as follows: Team tournament and individual tournaments. The individual tournament was first followed by the team tournament. The individual tournament scared me the most because it was a free-for-all setup. Even if you were club members, it didn't matter. The bracket was randomized so whoever was next to our name, we had to shoot against them.

I couldn't help but panic. I was thinking about what I'd do if Umi-chan's name was next to mine. She would easily destroy me, but I don't think I could even concentrate if I knew she was my opponent. The entire atmosphere of the tournament was so intense. I looked around constantly and everyone looked so calm and collected. It wasn't until Umi-chan found me in the busyness and helped me out.

"How are you feeling?"

"Uuuhhh, I don't really know."

"Haha, don't worry about everyone else."

All of a sudden, she grabbed my hands and gently kissed them. Her lips were so soft that my face immediately turned red and my body started to tremble.

"All you need to do is concentrate on everything I've taught you and you'll be fine. I'm sure you'll be great today."

"O-Okay."

"The individual tournament bracket has been established! Please check your name and we'll start in 10 minutes!"

At that moment, the entire crowd migrated to the event stands where the bracket was posted. We were all scrunched up, but somehow, we were able to find our name. I found my name pretty quickly. However, I was more interested in finding Umi-chan's. I eventually found her name nowhere near mine, but on the same side of the bracket so if by some chance I make it to the finals, I would have to face her. Once I was done with the bracket, I broke away from the crowd and headed to my things. Umi-chan was close by and broke the silence yet again.

"I looked at your route and I don't think you have anyone to worry about."

"How do you know that?"

"I've competed against most of these girls so I know their tendencies. Just relax and let the arrow fly. You'll be fine."

She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.

"Good luck. I look forward to seeing you in the finals."

I was awestruck; both by the kiss and her words. I couldn't believe she had this much confidence in me. I didn't have this much confidence in myself. How could I? This was my first time ever competing in archery while Umi-chan's a natural prodigy. My mind continued to wander these thoughts until I remembered her words: Relax and let the arrow fly. That's when I assembled my bow and headed to my first match.

…

My first opponent was a very nice girl. She greeted me with a smile and wished me the best of luck. I don't know if it was her or me, but I shot really well. I averaged 7-8 which allowed me a close win against her. After that, there was no time to rest. I had another match against a more formidable opponent. She was shooting 8-9 while I was still in the 7-8 area. It wasn't until the wind started to thrash which pushed her towards the 3-4 area. I managed to keep my composure and pass her in points. That was two rounds down. If I continued this trend, I'd have to shoot 4 more rounds with Umi-chan being my last.

Thankfully, I was given a short break which allowed me to find Umi-chan's match. Right as I got there, the atmosphere was completely different. The crowds were a lot bigger and the skill was a lot higher. The two of them were shooting 9-10 easily, but Umi-chan always had the edge on her opponent. Nothing managed to phase which amazed me. When she drew back her bow, it seemed as if she was the only person on this planet. Her calm eyes and her motionless body told me that she was confident in herself. That was something I didn't have. Umi-chan ended up winning and I immediately ran up to her with a big smile.

"Congratulations Umi-chan."

"Thank you. I had a few shots that didn't feel very good. How are you doing?"

"I've won my first two matches, but I still have a long way to go."

"I guess we're on the same page then. That was my second match too. Make sure you don't get tired because I expect your best when we go against each other."

"Umi-chan…"

"What?"

"How can you be so confident that I will reach the top?"

Suddenly, she held me by my cheeks and looked me in the eyes. I couldn't help but tense up no matter how much affection she told me. Something about her made me lose myself.

"Because you're still here and I want you here. You've been trying your absolute best and I know that your efforts will be paid in full."

"Umi-chan…"

"Now, go get ready. You don't want to be late for your next match."

"Okay."

She gave me a smile and I returned the favor. My only wish was to be able to use my words in situations like that.

…

By some stroke of luck, I made it to the finals. When I headed back to the official's booth, I noticed that Umi-chan's match still wasn't done yet so I sprinted as fast as I could to catch the final shots of a true archer.

The crowds were even bigger than the last time I was there which made it difficult to even see the action. The score was tied heading into the final 3 shots of the round. Umi-chan's opponent was first and shot a 9, 9, 10. For me, I was amazed because my best shot today was a 9, but I only managed one of those. This girl shot two right before my eyes. However, those thoughts quickly left my mind as Umi-chan stepped up to the line and transported me to another world. Her long hair flowed with the wind and her eyes were looking right at the target.

Woosh! She released her first arrow and landed a 10. Cheering wasn't allowed during rounds, but I could see the look of amazement in everyone's eyes. She pulled back and released once more. It was a 9. Now, it was getting scary because she needed a 10 in order to win. She took a deep breath and pulled her bow back once more. This time, she took a little more time concentrating on where her shot would go until something happened.

Snap! Her bow string snapped and whipped her in the eye causing her to collapse to the ground. The crowd went into shock. The officials wave the emergency flag and the match was halted. I tried breaking through the crowd to get to Umi-chan, but it was just too much. All I could do was watch as paramedics surrounded her and did their job.

I didn't know how bad it was, but it pained me to see her like this. She was about to win when the worst possible thing just so happened to occur. I was restless. I jumped around and moved around hoping to get a better look at what was happening, but it was no use. I was forced to wait until the situation was resolved.

It took about 10 minutes for the paramedics to exit the situation. as they did, I noticed them taking away a handful of gauze covered in the blood. This only scared me even more. I looked to Umi-chan and saw that that side of her face that was struck was red and her eyes was covered. My chest suddenly grew tight. Umi-chan doesn't get hurt. Why did she have to get hurt and why wasn't I able to do anything about it?

"Sonoda-san, we cannot delay any more. Are you able to continue or will you forfeit?"

She was slow to answer, but she eventually nodded her head with a confident smile. Then, one of our teammates handed her their bow and the crowd grew silent. Umi-chan checked out the bow and went forward with her routine. She locked her arrow and drew back her bow. The wind was blowing ever so slightly, but it didn't affect her. She slowly lined up the shot and let out her last bit of air.

Woosh! The shot was so quick and so precise that everyone took a second before looking to the target. When we all turned our heads, we saw a shot in the yellow right in the between the 9 and 10. Officials quickly ran to the shot and examined it carefully. Only a few seconds went by until they finally reached a verdict.

"Winner: Sonoda Umi!"

The crowd went wild. Umi-chan won. They quickly flooded the dojo to try and talk with her. I followed along, but unfortunately, I was in the back. I looked all over, but I couldn't find her. I called out her name multiple times, but the overpowering crowd was too much for me to listen back. It got the point where I could barely stand. People were shoving and shifting all over the place to where I could barely stand. Right as I felt that I was about to fall, someone grabbed my hand and pulled me towards them. I fell into their body and embraced them unknowingly.

"I'm sorry you had to see that. I look forward to our match coming up."

I looked up and it was Umi-chan holding me in her arms. That's when I lost it. Tears started to form in my eyes and my muscles were unable to hold back the tears. I grabbed her tight and she held me close.

"Umi-chan, I was so worried about you!"

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Don't ever do that again," I said as I hit her in the shoulder.

"Haha. I'll try not to next time."

All I could do after that was sniffle and hide my ugly face from sight. This girl was truly something out of a fairy tale. Beautiful, perfect, and selflessly loving towards me. I didn't deserve her and yet… I didn't want her to let go of me.

End of Chapter 13

 **Ending Note:** So I've had this idea running through my head for quite some time, but I wanted to run it by you guys to hear what you think. Once I'm through telling this story through Kotori's perspective, would you like it if I told it from Umi's perspective as well? Let me know and I'll make a decision by the next chapter:)


	14. Kotori 14

Together Forever

Chapter 14

Who Am I?

 **Note:** Hello everyone and long time no see/hear. I'm still planning on keeping this story going so for all of you followers of this story, there's no need to worry. School is just becoming more and more important so it's getting even more difficult to write my stories. However, I'm still going to keep my promise of extending the length of these stories for you guys. Also, I've decided that once I'm done with Kotori's perspective, I will write in Umi's perspective. I just absolutely love these two and can't get enough of them so I hope you enjoy the update.

I'm going to save you the trouble of telling you about the final match between me and Umi-chan. She beat me by a landslide. I just couldn't concentrate being next to her. Her radiant aura and brute strength overcame everything I worked so hard to achieve. But I didn't care. If I was going to lose to anyone, I wanted it to be Umi-chan.

When the next week of school came around, everyone got news of Umi-chan's victory and flocked to her. This made it hard for me to spend any quality time with her, but I forced myself to suck it up. I told myself that I would change and this one way that I could do that.

It's just… Giving up Umi-chan to all of these random girls was just too hard. I would overhear all of them congratulating her and asking her to lunch and it just hurt me on the inside. Umi-chan has made it clear that she cares about me and wants me to be her significant other so I shouldn't let these things affect me. I guess I'm just that weak to where I can't even let friendly conversation go by without it bothering me.

As the week went on, eventually, the visits got smaller and smaller until it was just me and Umi-chan. This was when I was finally able to return to my normal self. It was lunch on Friday afternoon where Umi-chan and I were able to spend some time alone. Instead of our usual eating area in the classroom, Umi-chan decided to take me out underneath her favorite tree. She laid out a blanket and the two of us began to eat our lunch.

In the beginning, it was a little hard to start a conversation since it's mostly been other girls starting something up with her. But of course, it was Umi-chan to start the conversation with me.

"So, how's the week been for you, Kotori?"

"Oh, it's been good, I guess."

"Haha, what's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know. I guess I'm still a shaken up after how horribly you beat me at the archery tournament."

"Yeah, I don't know how I shot that well. I just felt as if my abilities were heightened once my eye was out commission for the day."

"Good thing… I wanted to win," I said under my breath.

"Hey Kotori…"

I turned my head to look at her and she put her hand on my lap. Unable to hide my own emotions, my face grew bright red.

"I'm so proud of you, making it to the finals. That tournament wasn't an easy one and for you to those girls you went against is a huge accomplishment. I know no one else has given you any praise, but I'll be the first to say that I'm super happy for you."

Every time this girl spoke to me was as if she was killing me with love. Her words went directly to my heart and it made it impossible to muster any kind of response. All I could do was chuckle like an idiot and hope that that was a good enough response.

"Hey Umi-chan, I was wondering… I know you've been pretty this week with everyone, but I was wondering… Could we walk home together?"

"Kotori, I'm so sorry, but I have something that I have to do after school today. We can hang out this weekend though. Would that be alright with you?"

"I guess…" I said softly.

"I would love to walk home with you. It's just that I've been planning this for quite some time and if I don't do it then I won't be able to do it probably ever."

"Oh… if you phrase it that way then I wouldn't want to pull you away from it."

Suddenly, the bell rang and the two of us looked back at the academic building.

"I will call you first thing tomorrow and we can spend all day tomorrow. Okay?"

"Alright."

"Okay." She leaned in and kissed me on the lips. "I'll see you tomorrow." Umi-chan stood up and headed off to class.

Meanwhile, I was frozen. I couldn't stand up. I didn't know what to do. Part of it was the kiss that Umi-chan gave me. She had that power over me to simply put me under her spell. But there was also something else going on. The way Umi-chan talked about her thing after school made me curious. How if she missed this chance, she probably would never be able to do it ever? What did that mean?

My thoughts lead me to miss class for the rest of the day. I headed home by myself with my head bent over towards the ground. I kept telling myself to stop thinking so hard about this, but something inside me said not to do that. This was Umi-chan. What could she possibly do without my knowledge that would make me question our relationship? I've said it once already and I will state it again: Umi-chan is loyal to me. No matter the universe makes me think that she isn't, she really is. I need to stop worrying about it so much and let it go.

When I got to my house, I immediately got the bath ready and let the warmth and hot steam carry my worries away. Unfortunately, the longer I stayed in the bathroom, the more my mind wanted to think about Umi-chan and what she was doing. That's when I finished up and headed back into my room. I then jumped onto my bed, grabbed my pillow, and screamed as loudly as I could into it.

"What am I doing? You're such an idiot."

I removed the pillow from my face and looked at my desk. There, my phone patiently waited for a call or text from Umi-chan. As I watched my quiet phone, my arm moved on its own and grabbed it from its resting place. My fingers then did their own thing and dialed up Umi-chan. Before I knew, I was hearing a dialing tone ringing in my ear.

"Kotori?"

"Ah, Umi-chan!" I surprised to hear voice. I was completely caught off guard by unknowing actions of my body. I quickly sat up and dolled myself as if my looks mattered in this situation. "Hi, sorry to bother you so late."

"Oh no, it's okay. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, it's fine. I, uh… I don't really remember why I called you in the first place."

"Haha, actually… Now that I have you on the phone, I have to tell you something."

"Okay…" I suddenly gripped my phone a little tighter.

"You know the thing I talked about today that I didn't want to miss? Well, it turns out that I'll be able to do it all weekend so I'm going to have a get a raincheck for this weekend. I hope that's okay."

"Oh…"

"I know I promised I would hang out with you, but this is just something I need to…"

"It's fine. Do whatever you need to do. Good night." Without even waiting for a response, I ended the call and dropped my phone on the ground. My mind went blank and my body fell back onto my bed.

What am I doing?

…

I woke up and immediately got ready. All I could think of was getting to Umi-chan's house early enough. My destination was clear and once I got there, the area seemed quiet. I waited a few minutes, hoping that she would still be here to leave. Thankfully, her front door opened and out walked Umi-chan. She looked prettier and more dolled up than usual so I thought this was strange. I made sure to stay out of sight as I followed behind her to see what was going to happen today.

Our first stop was a hotel. Umi-chan checked into reception and then made her way to the elevator. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to follow her so I stayed outside of the hotel and kept an eye on the door.

A few hours went by until Umi-chan finally exited the building. However, she didn't leave alone. Another girl was with her. This girl was about the same height as Umi-chan. She was blond and beautiful. I couldn't stop myself from describing this girl like that. She was truly beautiful. Her looks almost made me not able to follow them. However, I grabbed my things and tailed them at a reasonable distance.

As I followed them, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Something that made me feel better was that they didn't go to any places that seemed like dating places. They went to a café, a few grocery stores, and a local elementary school. This I was thought was really weird. Of all the places to go to in this city, why would they go to an elementary school?

As the sun started to set, my following the two of them started to feel stupid and ridiculous. I didn't know why I was doing it. Something inside of me was feeling uneasy about it and I had to find out for myself. I examined the two of them once more before I decided to call it. There was nothing going on between the two of them. I was worrying myself over nothing. It's best if Umi-chan doesn't see me. It'll make me seem like some kind of stalker.

"Wait!"

The sound of Umi-chan's voice caused me to stop and investigate further into the situation. I got a little closer and watched the situation closely. It appeared as if the other girl was about the leave which was why Umi-chan shouted that word. However, the girl returned the Umi-chan and kissed her on the forehead. That's when she walked away and when she did, Umi-chan reached out of her hand, only to miss the other girl's hand by a matter of seconds.

Oh my God.

Suddenly, Umi-chan turned to her right which was where I was not hiding at all.

"Kotori? What are you…"

Oh my God.

End of Chapter 14


	15. Kotori 15

Together Forever

Chapter 15

Eternity

 **Note:** So this is caught me by surprise and it's going to catch you guys by surprise as well. I've finished this story. In other terms, Kotori's perspective is now over. As I was writing this, I knew that there wasn't much left without making this chapter feel like filler and useless words so I decided to finish it here. As suggested, I'm going to continue this story by writing it in Umi's perspective. I feel that it's a good idea and it lets me continue writing about my two favorite girls being together. Other than that, I hope you enjoy the finale and be sure to let me know what you guys think about the story and future hopes about Umi's perspective.

I saw the look of shock on her face and I knew that I had to leave. I turned and tried to run as fast as I could, but Umi-chan was too quick for me. She was already right behind me with her hand clenched around my wrist.

"Let go of me Umi-chan," I said with held-back tears.

"I can't. I have to talk to you. This is not what it looks like."

I couldn't muster the strength to answer so I continued to face away from her and make every effort I could to escape her gasp. Unfortunately, she was too strong that I was overwhelmed. She pulled me towards her and the next thing, I knew, she was kissing me on the lips. Unlike the ones before this one, this one tasted bittersweet. I couldn't last under her control for very long so I did everything I could to push her off of me. When I did, my strength failed me as tears started to fall from my face.

"Kotori, please let me explain myself. If you hate me after it, then I'll never bother you again." She reached out her hand to me and I took it.

We headed back to the park near our house where we sat down on the bench and Umi-chan opened herself up to me.

"When I was younger, I met this girl who I immediately fell in love with. That was the same girl you saw me with today."

"So you're going to tell me that we're done with this, aren't you?"

"No." She placed her hand on top of my mine and refrained from avoiding eye contact with me. "I need to tell you why I won't leave you. As the two of us got closer, I thought she was the one for me. However, she was only staying in this country for a short time. She eventually was forced to move back to Russia when she turned 16. I was only 15 at the time. I wanted to follow her, but she told me I couldn't. She told me that she wasn't the one for me. She said that she didn't deserve my love and that I'll find someone else to love the way she wants me to; someone who I'm truly meant to be with."

"So you're only with me to fulfill her wish."

"No Kotori. I love you… more than anyone or anything in this world. I met with her today to tell her that I found the one for me. I told her I met you and that I'm now the happiest person in the world. If I hadn't have met you that fateful day, I don't know what I'd be doing right now. Do you understand now? I love you and I want to be with you forever."

Every word that came out of this girl's mouth was something out of a fairy tale. She knew exactly what to say and how to say it and there was absolutely nothing I could do to combat it. She was perfect and there was no denying this fact. How could a girl like me find someone as perfect as her?

I slowly wiped my tears from my face and smiled at her.

"I love you too Umi-chan."

…

Nothing stopped us after that. We ended up graduating and going to the same university. Aside from our classes, there was nothing that we didn't do together and never once, did things ever feel stale or boring between us. Umi-chan always kept me company and I did my best to give her the same amount of love that she gave me.

Of course, Umi-chan graduated on-time, but I needed an extra year. That was when things got challenging for me. My classes were so difficult and I didn't have a lot of time to complete everything I needed to. That's why I'm thankful for Umi-chan being by my side. She was with me every step of the way. She encouraged me and helped me with everything so I never felt like I wasn't good enough. That same question I asked before continued to linger in my brain.

How could a girl like me find someone as perfect as Umi-chan?

I eventually managed to graduate and Umi-chan was there to support me as I walked for my degree. The two of us were so happy that we decided to take a trip to America. Unlike Japan, there was so much nature and so much space to do things that we didn't even know what to do with our time. We visited all of the big landmarks and national parks and amazed me that a country could have all this room. This trip was also where Umi-chan and I started to become more intimate. I knew that I could trust her so I decided to give myself to her. Our trip lasted a week, but when we got back, Umi-chan did the most unexpected thing ever.

She took me back to our old high school and led me to the roof where we first met. She got down on one knee and asked me to marry her. Of course, I said yes and the two of us had never been happier.

…

Our lives were a long and prosperous one until our old age. Umi-chan was a super healthy girl while I didn't care much about my own personal health. I eventually contracted breast cancer and the stage of its cycle was too far to be cured so I spent most of my time in bed. However, Umi-chan never left my side. She tended to my every wish just to make sure that I was happy. This was when I looked back on my life and wished that I could do more for this girl. She was amazing and perfect in every way and yet, she was making me think I wasn't good enough for her. I always tried bringing up the topic, but she would always stop me and tell me that she was the happiest person in the world.

When my time reached its end, Umi-chan admitted me to a hospital where we spent the rest of our time together. I grew weak and helpless. All I really remember was Umi-chan sitting by my bed holding my hand and reassuring me that everything was going to be better. It was hard to know what would happen after this, but I know I could trust her.

"Umi-chan?"

"What is it, Kotori?"

"I… I love you."

"I love you too." She held my hand even tighter.

"I'm sorry," I said softly.

"There's nothing to be sorry for. What are you talking about?"

"You deserved someone more than me… Yet… You decided to stay with me."

"Of course I stayed. I love you and nothing could change that."

"Umi-chan… I'm s-scared."

"Don't worry. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

"What's going to happen to me?"

"Don't be scared. You know what? I'm going to make you a promise that'll defy all laws of life. I will find you in the next life. No matter where you are or where I am, I'm going to find you and continue to love you until I cease to exist. I promise, and you know I don't break my promises."

"Umi-chan, I…"

Suddenly, the light faded and things became cold. My time was up. I closed my eyes and took one more deep breath. When I opened my eyes again, I was given life once more. However, I had no memory of anything. It was a new family, new atmosphere, and no knowledge of anything. I was truly a newborn baby.

…

I was an outsider my entire life. I had a few friends, but I never felt like I fit in. I didn't really have any ambitions or goals that I wanted to accomplish. It was almost as if I was adrift in time, cursed to wander endlessly.

Why was this happening to me?

I finished high school and went off to a university where I studied fashion. I don't know why I did that. I just had a knack for making clothes and having look somewhat decent. Some of my works even got recognized and put out on display for the public to see. Having my stuff put out got foot in the door for some of the best clothing lines in the country. This was my first time being overwhelmed with emotions. I had no idea I had this kind of potential and now that it was possible, I wasn't going to let this opportunity pass me by.

I graduated college and filled out my job application that I pretty much was guaranteed to get into. Once I got the job, I was hard at work coming up with the next best thing to strut around the streets. All the while, I felt like something was missing. I pitched every idea and all of them went through. However, it just felt like I needed something else.

One day, I was walking through the park simply enjoying the view of life. It was so cool to see some of my designs being worn by those people in the park. This put a smile on my face and made me continue with my daily journey. However, a voice from behind stopped me dead in my tracks.

"Kotori? Are you Kotori?"

I turned and saw a beautiful girl standing a few feet away from me.

"That's me. Do I know you?"

She suddenly walked up to and grabbed my hands. At first, I was disgusted with a random person approaching me like this, but that quickly dissipated. This feeling felt familiar. Actually, it was the very feeling that I felt was missing.

"W-Who are you?"

"I can't believe I found you."

That's when she placed her hand on my cheek, leaned in, and kissed me on the lips. That sensation of having someone's lips pressed against mine felt so familiar. Why couldn't I put my finger on it?

After a few seconds, she let go, leaving me casted under her spell. I know this feeling. I have to do know this feeling.

"I told you I never break my promise."

Suddenly, it hit me. I placed my hands against my chest and started to tear up.

"Umi-chan?"

"I'm here."

That's when my memories came back and I remembered everything. The perfect girl. She was standing right in front of me, defying the laws of time and life itself. I couldn't hold back anymore. I jumped into her arms and squeezed her as tight as I could. This was that feeling.

"How did you find me?"

"I never lost you."

"I love you, Umi-chan."

"I love you too."

End of Kotori's Story

 **Ending Note:** I hope you enjoyed the story and be sure to stick around for Umi's perspective.


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